[Text/Observer Network Xiong Chaoran] U.S. President Biden’s first trip to the Middle East during his tenure, Saudi Arabia is an important stop. Although the White House has previously refused to admit it, it is obvious that Biden’s visit is “intended to increase oil production.” . However, Saudi Arabian officials have previously "thrown cold water" - they do not plan to increase oil production to help the United States.
US media Bloomberg reported on July 15, local time, citing people familiar with the matter that Biden will not make any public statement on increasing oil production when he leaves the Middle East this week. Reuters quoted a U.S. official on the 15th as saying that the United States also does not expect Saudi Arabia to increase oil production immediately and is paying attention to the specific decision of the "OPEC+" (OPEC+) at the next meeting on August 3.
Previously, due to the "Khashoggi murder case", the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has not been good in recent years. Biden himself has even made "untouchable remarks" against Saudi Arabia. In this regard, some experts believe that considering the "evil words" Biden has said, it is unlikely that Saudi leaders will deliberately help the United States on the oil issue.
Screenshot of Bloomberg report
US media: Biden will not issue an oil supply statement during this visit
According to reports, on July 15, local time, Biden visited Saudi Arabia to discuss issues related to energy supply, human rights and security cooperation. In the context of the energy crisis that continues to plague Western countries, Biden has to change his past "tough attitude" and urge Saudi Arabia, a Gulf country, to increase oil production to help stabilize high oil prices. However, judging from the news reported by the media, the situation is not optimistic.
Bloomberg quoted an unnamed person familiar with the matter as saying that government officials in the United States and Saudi Arabia have been in close contact on energy issues and will continue to discuss the production of "OPEC+" members. However, Biden will not make any public statements about increasing oil production as he concludes his Middle East trip.
U.S. Presidential National Security Advisor Sullivan said earlier this week that Biden believed he would make progress with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf leaders to ensure that energy production in the region reaches "sustainable" levels. However, Sullivan stopped short of promising that the progress would be "immediate."
On July 14, local time, in the Jerusalem area, US President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Lapid held a joint press conference while visiting Israel. Picture from The Paper
Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying that the United States does not expect Saudi Arabia to increase oil production immediately and is paying attention to the specific decision of "OPEC+" at its next meeting on August 3.
The "OPEC+" organization is composed of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC (OPEC) and 10 non-OPEC oil-producing countries led by Russia. At the meeting to be held on August 3, the organization will discuss the oil production in September this year. production policy. Previously, "OPEC+" had decided to increase production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August.
In fact, before Biden arrived, Saudi Arabia had already "thrown cold water" on whether to increase oil production. On July 12, " Wall Street Journal " quoted Saudi officials as saying that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Russia has become closer than ever before, and Saudi Arabia neither intends to interrupt its ties with Russia nor to extract more crude oil. A plan to help the U.S. government deal with the energy crisis.
Expert: If you were in Saudi Arabia, what would you think when you heard the "untouchability theory"?
At present, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has had an impact on global oil prices. The United States once again needs Saudi oil. The Saudi leader refused to answer Biden's call in March this year. As a last resort, Biden had no choice but to visit Saudi Arabia, but it already caused considerable controversy before departure. The main reason was the "Khashoggi murder case" that shocked the world in 2018.
In 2018, Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who wrote a column for the Washington Post, was dismembered and killed. The US report believed that the Saudi royal family and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were the masterminds behind the incident. The motive is that the other party is a "dissident." During the 2019 Trump administration, Biden vowed to make the Saudi royal family a "pariah" because of this matter. After Biden took office as President of the United States, U.S.-Saudi relations have been at a low point.
In order to save some face, Biden published an article in the "Washington Post" on July 9, explaining that his visit to Saudi Arabia was to stabilize oil supply and stabilize the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia is crucial to achieving both goals.
html On July 15, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) pointed out that considering the cold talks on U.S.-Saudi relations and doubts about idle production capacity, experts do not expect Saudi Arabia to significantly increase oil production. Stephen Innes, managing partner of asset management firm SPI, said: "I don't think the Saudi crown prince will deliberately support Biden. What he made during the presidential campaign were some persistent remarks. I don't know what you heard. How to adjust your mentality after the remarks."Data picture: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's picture from The Paper
NBC said that for the Biden administration, it may be helpful to increase oil production before the critical mid-term elections in November this year. Help lower oil prices and alleviate inflation in the United States.
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3% month-on-month in June and 9.1% year-on-year. The year-on-year increase hit a new high since November 1981. Among them, the increase in gasoline prices far exceeded that of other categories of commodities, rising by 11.2% month-on-month and 59.9% year-on-year, the largest year-on-year increase since March 1980.
However, despite its indifferent attitude towards increasing oil production, Saudi Arabia still gave Biden a "meeting gift" for his visit.
On July 15, local time, a few hours before Biden was to visit Saudi Arabia, the Saudi General Civil Aviation Administration (GACA) issued a statement on Twitter , announcing that the airspace was open to all compliant civil aviation. Since Saudi Arabia's previous flight ban mainly targeted Israel, this move is obviously to open its airspace to Israel. And because Biden is about to fly to Saudi Arabia from Israel in just a few hours, Saudi Arabia's move is also seen as a gesture of goodwill to the United States.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.
