US May Push Saudi Arabia To Increase Oil Production

Axios has reported that the White House is investigating a possible visit by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia next month to convince the Kingdom to increase oil production.

• Saudi Arabia has continued to pursue a conservative approach to boosting oil production since demand increased after the Covid-19 slump.
• Last week an OPEC+ meeting co-chaired by Russia confirmed that modest production increases will continue.
• On the weekend the US and Venezuela held their first high-level bilateral talks in five years to discuss the possibility of easing sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector. The talks reportedly had two goals: 1. To detach Russia from a key ally and 2. To source alternate crude oil supplies to provide damage limitation to a protentional Russian energy ban.
• The talks have yet to deliver any concrete results but demonstrate a willingness from the Biden administration to pursue pragmatic solutions to rising energy prices.