If oil production in Russia falls due to sanctions, Saudi Arabia is ready to increase production to prevent a deficit. Earlier, the kingdom refused to pump more oil.
Source: Saudi Arabia’s official
The kingdom has resisted calls from the White House to accelerate production increases despite oil prices trading near $120 a barrel, the highest level in a decade, arguing that the energy crunch could get significantly worse this year. Saudi Arabia believes it needs to keep spare production capacity in reserve.
Concerns about the shortage of supplies have intensified after the European Union adopted another package of sanctions against Moscow, which would ban the import of marine oil from Russia.
“Saudi Arabia is aware of the risks and that it is not in their interests to lose control of oil prices,” said Saudi Arabia’s official.
Saudi Arabia had agreed to a shift in tone to try to calm prices as part of a rapprochement with Joe Biden’s administration. It has also offered reassurances that it would eventually respond by raising production should a supply crunch hit the oil market.
See also: OPEC may exclude Russia from the oil-production deal
