Biden’s diplomatic visits to Saudi Arabia had little effect, as the Saudi’s announced they struck a deal with Russia, and other OPEC nations, to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels a day.
The cartel announced their reduction will begin in November. These cuts are the biggest cuts seen in two years since Trump fought to stabilize Western oil and energy markets. The move is meant to counter the West’s effort cut massive crude revenue from reaching Moscow.
Western nations had taken steps to reduce reliance on Russian energy. The resulting economic impact has been meant to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. However, the rise in oil prices in November will reduce the total global supply of oil by 2%. And this reduction in energy will occur when Americans were returning to the polls for the Midterm elections.
In light of staggering gas prices in the United States, the White House has been trying to work with OPEC nations to increase the supply of oil. Today’s announcement is a clear sign that OPEC-producing countries are not aligning with the West’s intentions and their diplomatic relations are on a collision course with the US.
Earlier this year, Biden began releasing one million barrels a day from the nation’s strategic oil reserve. In light of OPEC’s decision, the former vice president’s administration said they are releasing an additional 10 million barrels in November. They hope this will help counter a rise in prices. However, it may not prove effective.
The current price of gasoline nationwide sits at $3.814, according to AAA. California leads the country with a gallon of gas selling for $6.425.
