Saudi Arabia’s unwillingness to disrupt oil cooperation with Russia.
While major oil producers such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are reluctant to increase production and Riyadh does not want to put itself in front of Moscow by doing so, OPEC Plus oil production is not expected to change much.
Reuters quoted several sources close to OPEC Plus as saying that despite the Ukraine conflict and calls from the United States and other oil consumers for more supply, OPEC Plus was likely to continue its plan to gradually increase oil production in May. will give.
Following the rise in oil prices to their highest level since 2008 at $ 139 a barrel, the United States has urged oil producers to increase production.
But major OPEC oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are reluctant to increase production targets; At the same time, OPEC Plus, which includes Russia, does not pay attention to the issue of Ukraine.
The group has increased its production by 400,000 barrels per day since August 2021. Since the beginning of May, the increase in production has been set slightly higher monthly, reaching 432,000 barrels per day.
According to informed sources, Riyadh has made any increase in oil supply beyond the OPEC Plus agreement conditional on more Western support for the Yemeni war and a guarantee of an Iranian nuclear deal.
Seven informed sources in the group said that OPEC Plus is likely to continue its production program in May, and one of these sources noted that Saudi Arabia is not willing to increase further, which indicates that Riyadh does not want its oil cooperation with Russia in Put at risk.
“They do not want to put themselves in front of Moscow by increasing production,” he added.
A Russian oil source said Russia did not expect OPEC Plus to increase its production plan for May and “hoped for the support of its OPEC Plus partners.”
Although OPEC Plus is increasing its production every month, it has not been able to achieve its production target because some members of this group are facing challenges to increase production.
