Following Biden’s remark, White House officials said the president was “disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Until Wednesday, the White House had avoided making any public comments that suggested there was friction between Washington and the leading OPEC member states.
But behind the scenes, members of the Biden administration had been “pulling out all the stops,” reaching out to partners in the Persian Gulf and warning of drastic consequences to the global economy if a production cut was announced, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
The White House even tried, unsuccessfully, to enlist companies to speak out against a production cut, according to people who asked to remain anonymous to describe private conversations.
Wednesday’s announcement was OPEC’s first major output cut since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
With U.S. midterm elections just a month away, any increase in gasoline prices resulting from higher oil prices would be a political gift to Republicans, who have blamed Biden for the record high gas prices brought on primarily by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As a member of the expanded OPEC+ group, Russia is poised to benefit significantly from the decisions made at Wednesday’s meeting, which was attended in person by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak (below).
by