Saudi Arabia is engaged in a rare public spat with its Emirati allies over a critical oil output deal, escalating tensions ahead of another meeting of the OPEC+ alliance on Monday.
The United Arab Emirates has bitterly opposed a proposed deal by the alliance of oil-producing countries to raise production, causing a stalemate that could derail efforts to curb rising crude prices amid a fragile post-pandemic recovery.
“It’s the whole group versus one country, which is sad to me but this is the reality,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg television, suggesting the United Arab Emirates were isolated within the 23-member OPEC+ bloc.
In a separate interview with Al-Arabiya television aired late Sunday, Prince Abdulaziz called for “a bit of rationality and a bit of compromise” ahead of Monday’s meeting.
Since May, the group has raised oil output little by little, after slashing it more than a year ago when the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand.
The current proposal is to ratchet up output by 400,000 barrels per day each month from August to December, pumping an additional two million bpd of crude into the market by the end of the year.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
