OPEC+ member states lined up on Sunday to endorse a steep production cut agreed this month after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Riyadh, claimed Saudi Arabia had coerced some other nations into supporting the move.
Washington noted on Thursday that the cut would boost Russiaโs foreign earnings and suggested it had been engineered for political reasons by Riyadh, which on Sunday emphatically denied it was supporting Moscow in its war with Ukraine.
The kingdomโs defense minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, also said the Oct 5 decision to reduce output by 2 million barrels per day โ which was taken despite oil markets being tight โ was unanimous and based on economic factors.
His comment was echoed by Iraq, OPECโs second largest exporter, and several other producer states.
โThere is complete consensus among OPEC+ countries that the best approach in dealing with the oil market conditions during the current period of uncertainty and lack of clarity is a pre-emptive approach that supports market stability and provides the guidance needed for the future,โ Iraqโs state oil marketer SOMO said in a statement.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Officer Nawaf Saud al-Sabah also welcomed the decision by OPEC+ โ which includes other major producers, notably Russia โ and said the country was keen to maintain a balanced oil markets, state news agency KUNA reported.
Oman and Bahrain also said in separate statements that OPEC had unanimously agreed on the reduction.
Algeriaโs energy minister called the Oct. 5 decision โhistoricโ and he and OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, visiting Algeria, expressed their full confidence in it, Algeriaโs Ennahar TV reported.
Ghais later told a news conference that the organisation targeted a balance between supply and demand rather than a specific price.
Oil inventories in major economies are at lower levels than when OPEC has cut output in the past.
But some analysts have said recent volatility in crude markets could be remedied by a cut that would help attract investors to an underperforming market.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that โmore than oneโ OPEC member had felt coerced by Saudi Arabia into the vote, adding that the cut would also increase Russiaโs revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Khalid bin Salman said on Sunday he was โastonishedโ by claims his country was โstanding with Russia in its war with Ukraine.โ
โIt is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government,โ the kingโs younger son wrote on Twitter.
