Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives U.S. President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. (Credit: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/via Reuters)
WASHINGTON — The United States presented Saudi Arabia with analysis showing there was no market basis to lower oil production before the OPEC+ decision to cut output, a White House spokesman said Thursday, pushing back against Riyadh's claims the output cut was "purely economic."
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, including Russia, lowered their production target by 2 million barrels per day last week, even though world supplies are considered tight. Of those cuts, experts expect an actual production cut of about half that level.
"The Saudi foreign ministry can try to spin or deflect, but the facts are simple," White House spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, adding that the cut would "increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions" against Moscow after it invaded Ukraine in February.
Kirby also said other nations in the oil cartel told the United States privately they "felt coerced to support Saudi's direction."
Saudi Arabian officials on Thursday rejected the idea that the cuts were political, saying delayed cuts would have had negative economic consequences.