RIYADH —
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister on Tuesday blasted the release of emergency oil
stocks as an attempt to “manipulate markets”, the latest apparent salvo in a
spat with Washington over oil production.
اضافة اعلان
“People are
depleting their emergency stocks, had depleted it, used it as a mechanism to
manipulate markets while its profound purpose was to mitigate shortage of
supply,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told an investor conference in the Saudi capital.
“However, it is my
profound duty to make it clear to the world that losing emergency stock may
become painful in the months to come.”
Prince Abdulaziz
did not single out the US in his comments about emergency stocks, but last week
US President
Joe Biden announced he was putting the final 15 million barrels on
the market from a record release of US strategic reserves.
That tranche was to
complete a 180 million barrel release authorized in the spring, in response to
price hikes linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It also came on the
heels of a decision by the OPEC+ oil cartel, which Riyadh co-leads with Moscow,
to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day from November.
The cartel’s
decision has drawn intense criticism from the White House, which has said it
amounted to “aligning with Russia” in the Ukraine war.
Prince Abdulaziz
pushed back against that assessment on Tuesday.
“I keep listening,
are you with us or against us? Is there any room for, ‘We are for Saudi Arabia
and for the people of Saudi Arabia’?” he said to applause.
Asked about getting
the decades-old partnership between Riyadh and Washington back on track, he
said: “I think we, as Saudi Arabia, decided to be the maturer guys and let the
dice fall.”
Davos in the Desert
Hundreds of CEOs and finance moguls are in Riyadh for the three-day
Future Investment Initiative (FII), a Davos-style investment conference that
analysts say will highlight Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical muscle despite strained
ties with Washington.
The FII, often
referred to as “
Davos in the Desert”, was launched in 2017 as an economic
coming-out party for the world’s largest crude exporter, which is trying to
diversify away from oil under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Up to 400 American
CEOs are expected to participate, though unlike in previous years there is no
representation from the US government.
The event’s
organizer told AFP last week that American officials had not been invited.
Addressing a panel
on Tuesday morning, JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said he was optimistic
that bilateral ties would eventually improve.
“Saudi Arabia and
the US have been allies for the last 75 years. ... They’ll work it through,” he
said.
“These countries
will remain allies going forward.”
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