Opec+ cuts oil production despite Biden’s request

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its oil-exporting allies announced a 2 million barrel per day cut in oil production Wednesday, bucking months of pressure from Washington to increase production and potentially spiking gas prices again. 

The coalition, which includes the 13 OPEC nations and 11 non-members including Russia, made the announcement at its Vienna meeting, the first in-person summit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The announced cut is roughly equivalent to 2 percent of global supplies.

In July, President Biden visited Saudi Arabia to directly appeal to its leaders to increase oil production, despite his administration’s frequent criticism of the kingdom’s human rights record. After the meeting, Saudi Arabia announced a production increase, but a significantly smaller one than the U.S. had requested.

The cut announced by OPEC+ is about twice the amount the U.S. has been releasing daily from the strategic petroleum reserve. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that future strategic petroleum reserve releases have not been discussed.  

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

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