Even though the White House asked the organization to pump more oil, OPEC+, which consists of the 15 Opec nations and the firm’s Russian-led allies, voted on Wednesday to reduce production of oil by 2 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, OPEC and its Russian-led partners will decrease crude oil production because they fear that as the world enters a recession, oil demand will decline. Top advisors to President Joe Biden have reportedly been trying to persuade OPEC to vote against a production cut since the White House would view this as a “hostile move,” according to CNN on Wednesday.
According to CNN, the administration was “panicking” over the possibility that OPEC might reduce output because it is worried that rising gas prices could harm the Democrats’ chances in the Nov midterm elections. According to Bloomberg, the White House actively encouraged Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other OPEC members to vote against reducing oil production, but its efforts were unsuccessful since OPEC+ wants to stabilize oil prices by limiting world supplies before winter.
On the eve of the 164th OPEC conference in Vienna, Austria, on Dec 3, 2013, the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) emblem can be seen at the organization’s headquarters.
After reaching a high of over $120 per barrel in March, the benchmark price of Brent crude oil was around $93 per barrel on Wednesday. An increase in oil prices might make the West’s fuel shortages, which are driving up gas and electricity prices in homes, even worse.
After Biden visited Saudi Arabia and requested the OPEC member to pump more oil while in the country, OPEC+ agreed to a modest increase in output in August, according to The Washington Post. OPEC rejected Biden as well after he urged its Middle Eastern members to increase oil production in May.
