The White House has accused Opec+ of aligning with Russia after Saudi Arabia led the group in agreeing deep oil production cuts, prompting a backlash from countries already battling surging energy inflation triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Opec+ group said it would reduce production targets by 2mn barrels a day, equivalent to 2 per cent of global supply, following its first in-person meeting in two years in Vienna. The actual cut in output is likely to be closer to 1mn b/d as many weaker members have struggled to hit production targets in recent months.
The decision to cut came despite extensive lobbying by the US government before the meeting and marks a significant breach with the Biden administration, which is seeking to drive down oil and petrol prices ahead of crucial midterm elections in November and to starve Russia of energy revenues.