Saudi Arabia denies refusing to extend the OPEC agreement
Shafaq News / The Saudi News Agency quoted Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, denying on Saturday what was stated in a statement by the Russian Energy Minister on Friday, in which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia refused to extend the OPEC + agreement and withdrew from it.
Prince Abdulaziz stressed Saudi Arabia's petroleum policy, which stipulates working to balance and stabilize markets to serve the interests of both producers and consumers.
A source said that US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told oil industry executives during a call on Friday that the White House was not negotiating with Saudi Arabia or Russia about an agreement to cut oil production and wanted the parties to reach an agreement between them.
Brouillette spoke to independent producers and other members of the oil industry more broadly soon after President Donald Trump met with executives from large oil companies at the White House to discuss the threat of a sharp fall in oil prices to disrupt their business.
Brouillette said the White House encouraged Russia and Saudi Arabia to reach an agreement, saying that Trump was optimistic that an agreement could be reached within a few days.
Demand for oil has decreased dramatically in recent weeks due to the outbreak of Coruna virus and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The fall in demand in addition to the increase in supply caused by the price war led to a drop in the prices of US oil futures contracts by 54 percent. The source also quoted White House officials as saying that Trump asked the energy and treasury ministers to find ways to improve the liquidity of the oil sector immediately and this may include easing the criteria banking to provide greater credits to oil companies.
Sources in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said they want the United States to reduce production in order for the organization to reduce production. Russia and other countries reduced production three years, while US supplies rose to a record level, helping them gain a market share of oil sales.
