Saudi Arabia sharply rebukes Russia over oil price collapse

Saudi Arabia sharply criticized Russia on Saturday over what it referred to as Moscow blaming the kingdom for the collapse in global energy prices, showing the tensions before a crisis meeting of OPEC and other oil producers.

Oil prices sharply fell following the so-called OPEC+ group of countries including Russia failed to agree to production cuts in early March. A cost war began immediately after, with Saudi Arabia threatening to pump at a record-breaking pace to seize back market share even while the coronavirus pandemic saw demand sharply drop as airlines worldwide halted flights.

International benchmark Brent crude fell to around $24 a barrel, in comparison to prices of over $70 a year ago. Prices slightly have rebounded with President Donald Trump tweeting and discussing the need for a production cut, but rancor between Saudi Arabia and Russia could imperil a deal emerging from a planned teleconference Monday.

That anger could possibly be seen early Saturday in two critical statements released by the kingdom’s state-run Saudi Press Agency. The first originated from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan beneath the headline: “ Statements Attributed to Among Russian President’s Media Are Completely Without Truth.”

“Russia was the the one that refused the agreement, as the kingdom and 22 other countries were trying to persuade Russia to create further cuts and extend the agreement,” the prince said.

He also said an alleged Russian contention that “the kingdom was likely to remove shale oil producers” was false aswell. U.S. shale producers have made America among the world’s top producers, but they’ve been hurt badly by the purchase price collapse. Trump has met with concerned producers about this.

Prince Faisal didn't identify the story, nor the outlet he was critiquing.

A second statement originated from Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, among King Salman’s sons. The prince criticized Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak by name for suggesting Saudi Arabia wished to cut out shale producers.

The prince “expressed his surprise at the attempts to bring Saudi Arabia into hostilities against the shale oil industry, which is completely false as our Russian friends recognize well,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia’s statements likely seek to defuse any possible confrontation between your kingdom and Trump, who tweeted Thursday that Moscow and Riyadh “will be reducing approximately 10 Million Barrels” without elaborating. Trump’s tweets and public comments have damaged oil prices during the past.