Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman defended Riyadh and Moscow’s recent oil cut decisions on Wednesday, which caused only a small, short-term increase in the price of Brent crude as the market shrugged at the move.
Saudi Arabia and Russia announced further production cuts to prop up the market. Brent climbed by 2% after the announcements, but then fell back down to around $75 a barrel.
Russia-Saudi oil cooperation is still going strong as part of the OPEC+ alliance, which will do “whatever necessary” to support the market, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a conference on Wednesday.
“Part of what we have done (on Monday) with the help of our colleagues from Russia was also to mitigate the cynical side of the spectators on what is going on between Saudi and Russia on that specific matter,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
“It is quite telling seeing us on Monday coming out with not only our (oil cut) extension… but also with validation from the Russian side,” he told a meeting of oil industry CEOs with ministers from OPEC and allies, known as the OPEC International Seminar.
Asked about the markets’ muted reaction to the recent production cuts, Prince Abdulaziz called for patience as he deplored the prevailing “negativism.”
“We will do whatever is necessary, whatever it takes” to stabilize prices, he added.
