Saudi, other OPEC+ ministers meet after Trump calls for lower oil price

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and several of his OPEC+ counterparts have held talks following U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for lower oil prices and ahead of a meeting next week of OPEC+ oil-producing countries, according to official statements and sources. Trump last week called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices. OPEC+ has yet to respond, but five OPEC+ delegates said a meeting of the group’s top ministers on Feb. 3 is unlikely to adjust its current plan to start raising output from April. On Monday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman held talks with Iraq’s Hayan Abdel-Ghani and Libya’s Khalifa Abdulsadek in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The Saudi minister and his Libyan counterpart discussed “strengthening joint efforts to support the stability of global energy markets” to serve their mutual interests, SPA reported. He also discussed cooperation to achieve mutual interests with his Iraqi counterpart, SPA reported.
The Saudi minister also met with UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei in Riyadh for informal talks, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The Saudi government communications office, UAE energy ministry and OPEC did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. One of the sources said the talks took place on the sidelines of the Arab Energy Fund’s 50th anniversary celebrations which are taking place in Riyadh and were not a planned meeting of some OPEC ministers. Oil prices have risen this year, with Brent crude reaching almost $83 a barrel on Jan. 15, its highest level since August, supported by concern about the supply impact of U.S. sanctions on Russia. Prices have since eased, trading below $78 on Tuesday.
OPEC+ groups members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia. On Feb. 3, its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), a group of top ministers which can recommend policy changes, is scheduled to meet. The ministers will likely make no changes at the meeting to their existing plan to start raising production from April, five OPEC+ delegates, who declined to be identified, have told Reuters since Trump’s comments last week. Two others said it was too early to say. OPEC+ members are currently holding back 5.86 million barrels per day of production, or about 5.7% of global demand, after making a series of cuts since 2022 to support the market. April’s planned increase follows several delays due to weak demand. Asked about Trump’s comments, Saudi Economy Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday that Saudi Arabia and OPEC were seeking long-term oil market stability.