Big OPEC+ Oil Production Cut Provokes Pointed Responses

Big OPEC+ Oil Production Cut Provokes Pointed Responses

Share to Linkedin TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden (C-L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) arrive for the ... [+] family photo during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit (GCC+3) at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The response from the Biden administration and the domestic oil and gas industry was swift and pointed after OPEC+ ministers surprised most observers Wednesday with an announced agreement to further reduce the cartel's oil exports by 2 million barrels of oil per day (bopd). The announced reductions are double the 1 million barrel cut that had been anticipated over the previous week. The agreement came despite pre-meeting warnings from the Biden administration that the U. S. would consider deep production cuts a "total disaster" and a "hostile act," according to CBS News and other media reports. Such extraordinary language and pushback from a U. S. administration is unprecedented during the 6-year history of the OPEC+ group. Since its formation in November, 2016, the cartel has made no secret that its purpose is to exert influence over