Russia and Saudi Arabia are blaming each other for the failure of OPEC+ deal

Saudi Arabia has denied claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that it has withdrawn from the OPEC+ agreement.

“Russia has withdrawn from the agreement”, said the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in a statement. He added that Russia did not agree to extend the deal.

During the week, US President Donald Trump welcomed the idea of ​​a global effort to reduce oil production by about 10 million barrels per day from first-quarter levels and to curb the historic crunch of crude oil prices.

Separately, the Saudi Ministry of Energy said in a communique that “it is making great efforts with OPEC+ countries to reduce the surplus in the oil market as a result of low global economic growth”, and added that Russia has withdrawn from a proposal to agreed by 22 countries.

Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud said Russia was the first to announce that countries were no longer bound by obligations to shrink production by April 1, leading to increased supply. Saudi Arabia is open to hearing anyone trying to find solutions to the oil markets, he added.

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told executives of the country’s largest oil companies that oil-producing countries should unite to cut production to stop the collapse in prices.

Vladimir Putin said shrinking world production with just over or under ten million barrels per day is possible. He reaffirmed a tweet from US President Donald Trump that Russia and Saudi Arabia are ready to cut production. This led to a 47% increase in the price of Brent crude oil.

Russia’s shift in position reflects concerns about the sudden collapse in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is threatening a global recession this year.

Two weeks ago, Putin seemed determined to continue the price war with Saudi Arabia, which began after Moscow’s withdrawal from the supply restriction agreement. This has caused the Saudis to flood the oil market, pushing prices to their lowest level in nearly two decades.