June 06, 2022

A Most Important Import


A Most Important Import
A royal agreement from the Arabian kingdom. Wikimedia commons Suresh Babunair

Saudi Arabia has agreed to increase their production of oil if Russian oil production sees a dramatic decline due to sanctions.

The White House has been pressuring Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production since the beginning of the war, but the kingdom has so far resisted. Global oil prices have increased to $120 a barrel; for reference, on February 22, 2022, just before the conflict began, oil cost a little over $93.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia produced 10 percent of the world's oil. Now the OPEC nations have agreed to increase their oil production by 50% during July and August, which could wean the world off Russian oil even more in coming months.

With the European Union adopting another sanctions package that includes a ban on the import of non-pipeline oil from Russia, it is eager to find other major sources of oil. Sanctions to date have certainly affected the Russian oil sector, but until there was some measure of a worldwide shortage, Saudi Arabia had no plans of increasing its production.

 

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