Biden ‘Reluctant’ to Detail Response If OPEC Won’t Boost Output

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said he was reluctant to describe what he planned to do if oil-producing nations don’t boost output amid a global energy crunch as he criticized Russia and Saudi Arabia for an inadequate response.

“I do think that the idea that Russia and Saudi Arabia and other major producers are not going to pump more oil so people can have gasoline to get to and from work, for example, is not, is not, right,” Biden said Sunday at a news conference in Rome following the Group of 20 leaders summit.

Asked how the U.S. would respond if OPEC governments don’t act, he responded, “What we’re considering doing, that I’m reluctant to say before I have to do it.”

A senior Biden administration official said Saturday that U.S. officials were using meetings around the summit as an opportunity to talk to other major energy-consuming nations about how to press OPEC+ to boost output. The U.S. also planned to discuss with leaders how countries outside the 23-nation cartel could respond if OPEC+ doesn’t act.

The official noted that the U.S. hoped to see production increased in the short term but stands by its longer term goal of continuing to transition to be more reliant on renewable energy sources.

More broadly, an intense campaign is being waged to persuade OPEC+ to speed up its output increases, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing multiple diplomats and industry insiders involved in the contacts. 

King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, a key energy producer, said in a Friday virtual address to the G-20 that he was seeking “balance” in energy markets.

“The Kingdom will continue its leading role in economic and health upturn and recovery from the global crises, and in finding a balance to achieve security and stability in energy markets,” he said, according to Saudi press agency.

The cartel meets virtually on Nov. 4 to review policy.

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