Saudi Arabia, UAE against kicking Russia out of OPEC+
Dubai, Mar 29 (EFE).- Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said they were opposed to expelling Russia from OPEC+ over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and highlighted the role the group plays in maintaining stable energy markets.
OPEC+ is made up of the 14 permanent members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 10 other non-members, including Russia, which has been hit by severe sanctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February.
“We have one mission and only one mission, which is stabilizing the market,” the UAE minister Suhail al Mazrouei said as he addressed a panel at the World Government Summit 2022, inaugurated on Tuesday in Dubai.
“So we cannot be politicizing, or bringing politics to the organization having that debate … our aim is to calm the market,” Mazrouei added.
“If we are asking anyone to leave, then we are raising the prices, then we are doing something that is against what consumers want,” he continued.
His Saudi counterpart Abdulaziz bin Salman pointed out that Russia accounts for nearly 10% of the oil market demand.
“The KSA, along with the UAE, worked to ensure energy security,” he said, adding that politics have no place at the OPEC.
Bin Salman and Al Mazrouei also refused to be drawn on whether OPEC+ is planning an increase in production beyond the 400,000 barrels it has been injecting into the market since mid-2020 amid pressure from consumers — particularly the United States and European Union — who want to curb the historic rise in prices.
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