US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Saudi Arabia does not maintain contacts with Russia on the issue of expanding the OPEC + agreement, Bloomberg reports citing a statement from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy.
The lack of negotiations allows the agency to conclude that Riyadh and Moscow are ready for a long price war, despite economic uncertainty amid the spread of coronavirus.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy has firmly maintained its position in the price war with Russia and has not discussed with its Russian colleagues reducing oil production and attracting new countries to the OPEC + agreement, Bloomberg reports.
“There were no contacts between the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia either on the increase in the number of OPEC + countries, or on the issue of working together to rebalance the market,” a spokesman said.
The comments of the Saudi ministry dispelled the assumption that Riyadh and Moscow might seek diplomatic negotiations.
According to the agency, earlier the deputy head of the Ministry of Energy Pavel Sorokin said that OPEC + alone could not rectify the market situation, calling for the expansion of the organization.
Thus, Bloomberg suggests that both Saudi Arabia and Russia are ready for a long price war, despite protests from other OPEC + members.
On Friday, the price of Brent crude oil fell below $ 25 per barrel due to the fact that, according to forecasts of the International Energy Agency, global demand for oil due to coronavirus could fall by 20%. It is noted that since the beginning of the year, oil prices have already fallen by more than 60%.
At the same time, Riyadh continues to adhere to its positions, despite the call of the American government to end the price war.
In particular, earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a telephone conversation with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, called on Riyadh to “calm” the global financial and energy markets in times of economic uncertainty.
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