On Wednesday (October 5), local time, OPEC+ decided to "reduce production", which means that it will reduce oil production by 2 million barrels per day from November, and the reduction will be about 2% of global supply. Americans were disappointed and angry about this. The Biden administration and its supporters have reacted angryly to OPEC+'s decision to cut production, believing it was a hard-working refusal to the U.S. president to improve relations with Saudi Arabia and a humiliation to Biden. It is worth noting that in "OPEC+", the "+" represents Russia and other countries and regions and is included in it.
White House made it clear that it saw OPEC 's decision to reduce production by 2 million barrels a geopolitical move and an insult to Biden, who is seeking to cut Russian incomes and drive down gasoline prices before the November Congressional election. Biden was previously visited by Jeddah in July and was photographed fighting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when Biden wanted to increase production and lower oil prices, despite U.S. intelligence found that the actual Saudi ruler was behind the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist in 2018.
The White House was disappointed with OPEC+'s decision to "reduce production." "It's obvious that OPEC+ is in line with Russia's position in today's statement." U.S. National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan and National Economic Commission Director Brian Dess also said in a statement that the president was "disappointed by this short-sighted decision..." Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told CNBC, "I think it's a mistake for them, and I think it's time to fully reevaluate the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia."
U.S. Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski (Tom Malinowski proposed legislation to withdraw troops from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates . Malinowski tweeted, "Our message to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be: If you want to stand on Putin's side, please give Putin a defense. Good luck!"
Although Washington is angry, experts studying Saudi Arabia and the oil market question how much the decision will have on the bilateral relations that have become stale. Atlantic Council (Atlantic) Council) Scocroft Director of the Middle East Security Initiative and former senior director of Gulf Affairs at the U.S. National Security Council said, "I don't think Saudi Arabia thinks the U.S. government can take any measures to express their dissatisfaction in a meaningful way, and I don't think the U.S. expects Saudis to oppose OPEC's discussion for their own benefit. So I think Saudis know that the U.S. won't be happy about it, but they don't care too much. . ”
Previously, as part of Biden's demonstrations to Riyadh this summer, he approved large-scale arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but after Russia attacked Ukraine, allies that provided weapons to Kiev and hoped to supplement the arsenal jumped to the forefront according to alliance rules, so Biden's arms sales promise was not fulfilled. Ed Hirs, an energy expert at the Department of Economics at the University of Houston, also said that Western countries did not provide the vaccines Saudi Arabia sought during the worst of the pandemic, and the country's death rate was high.
For the United States, which is a frequent visitor to the United States, energy expert Ed Hills said, "If you take a step back, the United States has nothing to offer at this point, and Saudi Arabia can't see any reason to help."
