White House Confirms Attempt to Convince Saudis to Postpone Oil Cuts Until After Midterm Election

The White House on Thursday confirmed President Joe Biden’s officials tried to convince Saudi Arabia to postpone any oil production cuts.

“We presented Saudi Arabia with analysis to show that there was no market basis to cut production targets, and that they could easily wait for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed,” White House national security agency spokesman John Kirby said in a statement to reporters.

The statement confirms the Biden administration tried to convince the Saudis not to cut production in their October meeting, urging them to wait until a future meeting which would likely take place after the Democrat midterm elections.

Kirby said the White House’s motivation was economical but did not deny any political motivation.

Saudi Arabia stressed their decision to back OPEC+ production cuts had nothing to do with the midterm elections in the United States.

“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would first like to express its total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context,” a statement from the Saudis Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.

Since the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production was announced, Biden has publicly threatened the Saudis, promising to “reevaluate” their relationship with the United States and has warned of “consequences.”

But the president indicated he will not act against the Saudis until after the midterm elections, when Congress returns to Washington, DC, in mid-November.

Biden failed to negotiate with the Saudis despite a personal meeting with them in July and a fist-bump with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Gas prices in the United States began to tick up again in October, up 30 cents a gallon in many areas.