foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud called unreliable “attributed to” the President of Russia Vladimir Putin with the words that initiated the collapse of the deal with OPEC+ was not Russia, and Saudi Arabia, trying thus to get rid of the competition among the American producers of shale oil.
a Statement by the Saudi Minister issued a governmental Agency SPA. Al-Saud said transferred media Putin’s words “completely devoid of truth” and a “distortion of facts is astonishing.” The phrase of the Russian President, by perturbing the Saudi side, is contained in the transcript of his meeting with the heads of oil companies and industry officials, published on the official Kremlin website.
According to Putin, March 6 in Vienna, Russia has proposed to extend the restriction on oil production OPEC+ “at least a quarter or a month” and “was not the initiator of the completion of the agreement.” “Unfortunately, our partners from Saudi Arabia has agreed to extend the current deal on the current conditions, in fact, withdrew from the agreement and announced a significant additional discounts on their oil, as well as plans for a sharp increase in production,” – said Putin. He added that it is “further influenced the drop in oil prices and also continues to negatively affect the situation on the market.” Another factor influencing the situation, he called the pandemic of coronavirus.
the Russian President suggested that Saudi Arabia was trying to “get rid of the competition, which extract so-called shale oil. In order to do this, the price should be below $ 40 per barrel.” Putin stressed that Russia “just not necessary” because the country’s budget for 40 dollars per barrel.
Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, in turn, said that Russia refused to renew a deal OPEC+ in spite of attempts by Saudi Arabia and 22 countries to convince her to go the extra contthe amount of oil production and extend the duration of the transaction. According to the Minister, the Kingdom wants to achieve a balance in the oil market, and Russia, by contrast, wants to keep prices low to affect shale oil producers.
