OPEC chief pledges to deepen ties with new U.S. administration even as Biden calls for climate action

OPEC chief pledges to deepen ties with new U.S. administration even as Biden calls for climate action

An off-shore oil platform off the coast in Huntington Beach, California on April 5, 2020.Leonard Ortiz | MediaNews Group | Orange County Register | Getty ImagesDUBAI — Oil-producing group OPEC will continue to strengthen its relationship with the U.S. energy industry under Joe Biden's new administration, the oil cartel's Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo told CNBC on Tuesday.It comes despite the Democratic leader's stated commitment to fight climate change and focus on renewable energy.Barkindo congratulated Biden for his upcoming inauguration during a virtual panel hosted by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, and said: "We continue to deepen this relationship, which we found mutually beneficial to all of us.""And we intend to continue along this fashion going forward and the administration of President Biden," he told CNBC's Hadley Gamble in an exclusive interview.OPEC leaders were known to have at times communicated with outgoing President Donald Trump, who was particularly vocal and active about the oil markets and what he believed oil-producing countries should do to alter crude prices.Biden's likely change in approach — as well as his focus on investment in non-oil energy sources — have reportedly unsettled some in the 13-member oil-producing group. The president-elect's potential return to the Iran nuclear deal, which