Saudi Arabia claims US requested one-month delay to oil production cut

Saudi Arabia has claimed it was pressured by the Biden administration to delay by a month a decision to cut oil production, a move that would have reduced the likelihood of an unpopular fuel price rise just before the US mid-term elections. In its first remarks since the US president warned on Tuesday of consequences over the production cut, the Saudi foreign ministry said it rejected the overture and pressed on with the reduction. Washington has not confirmed it made any such request.

Why is the US so angry with Saudi Arabia about oil supply cuts? Read more The Saudi foreign ministry statement clearly implied that the US had made the request for a one-month delay, although it didn’t specifically mention the 8 November elections in which Joe Biden wants to maintain a tight Democratic majority in Congress. The price of petrol has been a key issue in the run-up to the vote. “The government of the kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US administration that all economic analysis indicates that postponing the Opec+ decision by a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,” the statement read.

The claim underscores the political sensitivity in the Biden administration surrounding the cut to supply, which has been read as a serious slight to an important relationship on the one hand, and a boost to Vladimir Putin on the other. Saudi Arabia has denied that the decision was taken unilaterally and said other Opec members were all in support. However, senior Democrats insist that political considerations were behind the move and that US concerns were dismissed by an ally willing to dilute a long-standing relationship, potentially in favour of the Russian president.

01:45 Democrat senators call for a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid oil production cuts – video The rift is the most serious between the US and Saudi Arabia in decades and is poised to shred a long-standing pact that guarantees energy supply in return for the US supporting the kingdom’s security. Relations between both states have deteriorated since the early days of the Biden administration when the then incoming president vowed to isolate the Saudi de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman , whom he described as a pariah. In July this year, Biden reversed course, travelling to Jeddah to meet the crown prince, but leaving with little gained from his trip.

Prince Mohammed, meanwhile, has attempted to recast bilateral ties, suggesting the US is one of several global partners and that his country no longer responds to “dictates”. In an apparent move to placate Washington, the foreign ministry statement also suggested Riyadh was likely to vote at the United Nations in support of a resolution condemning Russia for the “annexation” of Ukrainian territory last month. Riyadh, however, has remained on friendly terms with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine , and in supporting an oil supply cut is accused of helping fund Putin’s war effort.

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