Saudi Arabia's rejection of the US "suspension of oil production reduction plan": it will have a negative impact on the economy

OPEC+'s recently announced "major oil production reduction plan" angered the United States, and the US media bluntly said that this was a "direct blow" to the Biden administration: the timing of the production cut coincided with the mid-term elections in the United States in November, and the continuous rise in high oil prices was bound to make the Democratic Party pay a political price
.
In fact, the Biden administration has long known this, so it tried to block it before the announcement of the production reduction plan, but it ended in failure
.

The Wall Street Journal of the United States recently quoted news that before the OPEC+ decision was announced, White House officials tried to persuade Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to postpone the production reduction plan for a month to reduce the impact on the US midterm elections, but the Saudi side refused
.
The report described Saudi Arabia's refusal as a "resounding no.
"

On October 13, the Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a statement posting this "loud no" on social platforms, confirming the authenticity
of the above news.

As for the accusation that Saudi Arabia's production cuts are "taking sides" in geopolitical games, Saudi Arabia rejects all remarks without any facts, and reiterates that OPEC+'s production reduction plan is "purely based on economic considerations"
.
The statement also pointed out that Saudi Arabia has continued to consult with the US government and still believes that "postponing the production cut plan by one month will have a negative impact on the Saudi economy"
.

Screenshot of the Wall Street Journal report

The Saudi crown prince was ever angered by the Biden administration?

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, high inflation and high oil prices have deeply troubled Western consumers, and have affected the election situation
of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.

Seeing that the midterm elections are approaching, in July this year, Biden put down his body to visit Saudi Arabia, and even met with the Saudi crown prince to "bump fists" in an effort to persuade Saudi Arabia to increase production
.
It is worth mentioning that US intelligence agencies have said that the Saudi crown prince is related to the "dismemberment" and murder of journalist Khashoggi in 2018, and Biden has publicly called Saudi Arabia a "pariah country"
.

The Wall Street Journal reported on October 11 that Biden's "bump-and-fist diplomacy" has
failed now.

Saudi government insiders revealed that Biden's visit in July not only did not change Saudi Arabia's determination to develop a foreign policy independent of the United States, but also angered Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman
.
Biden told reporters after his visit that he accused the Saudi crown prince
in person about the Khashoggi case during bilateral talks.

However, U.
S.
officials denied the statement, claiming they did not see any indication that Biden's words had damaged U.
S.
-Saudi relations
.

The Wall Street Journal also pointed out that Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman is working to improve the strength of the Saudi economy, and oil revenues are the focus
of it.

Saudi officials said bin Salman had told his advisers that he was unwilling to make too many sacrifices for the Biden administration, in addition to energy revenues and Biden's remarks in the Khashoggi case, because of differences
between the Saudi and Biden administrations over Yemen and Iran.

Informed sources in the United States and Saudi Arabia also mentioned an "episode"
.
Saudi Arabia had planned to push OPEC+ to increase oil production by 500,000 b/d, but in August, after Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi crown prince ordered the increase to be reduced to a symbolic 100,000 b/d
.
The incident caused the Biden administration to be dissatisfied, and the White House also sent a letter accusing the Saudi side of breaking its commitments
.

People familiar with the matter said that the White House email "poked a big basket", completely angered the Saudi crown prince and strengthened his determination
to develop an independent oil policy from the United States.
Before the OPEC+ meeting on October 5, the Saudi crown prince also made a special phone call to support the organization to announce a "major production reduction plan"
.

Biden and the Saudi crown prince "bumped fists", the picture is from the surging video

The White House wanted to struggle, but the reply was a resounding "no"

The Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying that before everything was "closed" on October 5, White House officials launched an "intense" lobbying campaign to try to persuade Saudi Arabia to postpone the production cut plan for a month - thereby reducing the impact
on the Biden administration's midterm elections.

According to people familiar with the matter, White House officials have had many phone calls with the Saudi crown prince, and US Treasury Secretary Yellen has also spoken
with the Saudi finance minister.

Another person familiar with the situation claimed that the UAE, another important OPEC member, also opposes the cuts, along with Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain, who believe the cuts could affect global energy markets
.
Before the OPEC+ meeting, officials from the United Arab Emirates and the United States held talks with Saudi counterparts to try to push for a delay
in the planned production cuts.

The results show that the White House can be described as "working hard for nothing"
.

On October 5, OPEC+ held a ministerial meeting in Vienna and decided to cut oil production by 2 million b/d
from November.
It is the largest oil production cut since the pandemic, equivalent to about
2% of global oil demand.

U.
S.
officials bluntly said they were caught off guard by the disappointment: because they thought OPEC+ would cut production by just 1 million b/d, but it doubled
.

According to US media reports, this move may lead to a sharp spike in oil prices, putting further pressure on Western consumers who are plagued by high energy costs, and will also help Russia replenish its treasury
during "special military activities".
Among them, some media bluntly said that this is a "direct blow" to the Biden administration, and at the moment when the midterm elections are approaching, high oil prices will undoubtedly make Biden and the Democratic Party pay a political price
.

The Saudi side insisted the move was for "economic reasons" and only to secure oil revenues
.
On the 11th, the Saudi foreign minister said that OPEC+'s decision was "purely based on economic factors, not political factors"
.

The Wall Street Journal mentioned that oil prices have continued to fall in recent times, and there is a danger of
falling below $80 per barrel.
The Saudis believe that if they do not take action to cut production, the oil market may collapse and oil prices may fall to $
50 a barrel.

Despite this, the news still caused an uproar in the United States, and the two parties, especially the Democratic Party, were "indignant", accusing Saudi Arabia of "using rising oil prices to help Russia", and calling for "retaliation" or even "severing diplomatic relations"
.
However, US media and analysts believe that now Biden's choice to deal with OPEC+ production cuts "is limited and needs to be weighed"
.

Biden threatened to give Saudi Arabia a taste of "consequences", and Saudi Arabia shot back

Compared to the angry members of Congress, the White House is cautious
.
After repeatedly expressing "disappointment", the White House announced on the 11th that Biden believes it is time to "re-examine" the US-Saudi relationship and ensure that it is in the interests of the United States
.
Biden revealed on the same day that he would consult with members of Congress, and then "they (i.
e.
Saudis) will have to - they will face some consequences for what they have done to Russia.
"

However, the New York Times bluntly said that it is not clear whether Biden's so-called "re-examination" means a turn in US-Saudi relations, or to calm the pressure
of domestic public opinion.
The Washington Post cautioned that given Saudi Arabia's importance in the Middle East and the Arab world, any major downgrade of relations between the two countries could entail oil costs and beyond
.

In addition, a US official revealed to the Wall Street Journal that one of the Biden administration's first response measures may include withdrawing from the "Future Investment Initiative" investment forum
hosted by Saudi Arabia later this month.
For now, the United States has withdrawn from the meeting of the working group on Iran at the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
, which is expected to be held next week.

Saudi officials dismissed the allegations and criticized the Biden administration's opposition to OPEC+ production cuts as a political ploy to secure votes
in the midterm elections.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council denied the claim, claiming it was "absolutely false"
to link U.
S.
opposition to the election.

On October 13, the Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a statement on its Twitter account to once again state its position
.

Screenshot of the statement of the Saudi Foreign Ministry

The Saudi government saw the rhetoric against Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ made the decision to cut production, describing the Saudi decision as "taking sides in international conflicts and motivated by political motives against the United States,"
the statement read.
Saudi Arabia strongly opposed these "unfounded" statements, and the decision to cut production "was based on purely economic considerations and was unanimously agreed by all member states.
"

It is worth noting that this statement also supports the authenticity
of the above-mentioned report that "the White House has lobbied Saudi Arabia to postpone the production reduction plan".

"The Saudi government would also like to clarify that given Saudi Arabia's belief in the importance of dialogue and exchange of views with allies and partners outside OPEC+ on the oil market situation, the Saudi government, in ongoing consultations with the U.
S.
government, clarified that all economic analyses indicate that postponing OPEC+ (production cuts) decisions for one month would have a negative impact
on the economy.
"

The Saudi Foreign Ministry concluded its statement by stressing that Saudi Arabia views the U.
S.
-Saudi relationship as a strategic relationship in the common interests of the two countries, but opposes any "regulations, actions or attempts" that seek to distort Saudi Arabia's noble goal of "
protecting the global economy from fluctuations in the oil market.
"