WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and King Salman of Saudi Arabia discussed energy supplies in the face of soaring fuel prices and developments in the Middle East, including Iran and Yemen.
“The two leaders committed to ensuring the stability of global energy supplies,” the White House said in a statement after a telephone call between the two leaders.
King Salman, head of the largest crude exporter in the OPEC oil production group, spoke about maintaining balance and stability in the petroleum markets, Saudi state news agency said. He emphasized the need to maintain the supply agreement OPEC has with its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+.
Last week, OPEC+ agreed to stick to moderate rises in its oil output, with the group struggling to meet existing targets and wary of responding to calls on its strained capacity for more crude from top consumers to cap surging prices. read more
Global crude prices, which have rallied about 20% this year, are likely to surpass $100 a barrel because of a weaker-than- expected hit to demand from the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
High oil prices are a risk to the Biden administration ahead of November’s congressional elections in which his fellow Democrats will defend slim majorities in the Senate and US House of Representatives.
Last year, the administration attempted to push down oil prices by organising a drawdown of emergency oil reserves in concert with large consumers in Asia, including China, but prices chilled only temporarily. Oil has also been supported by the tension in Ukraine as Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops on its borders.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week the administration has been in coordination with allies and partners including on “how best to share energy reserves in the event that Russia turns off the spigot, or initiates a conflict that disrupts the flow of gas through Ukraine”. That was an apparent reference to both the potential of oil and natural gas cutoffs in the aftermath of any invasion by Moscow.
The White House said that on the call, Biden also repeated the commitment of the United States to support Saudi Arabia in defending itself against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group, the White House said.
Biden also briefed Salman on international talks to “re-establish constraints on Iran’s nuclear program,” the White House said. King Salman told Biden that Saudi Arabia wanted there to be a “political resolution” in Yemen.
Biden’s last call with King Salman was reported about a year ago around the time of the release of a US assessment that said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king’s son, approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. read more
