Opec+ is not on board with Saudi’s ‘whatever it takes’ message

Opec+ is not on board with Saudi’s ‘whatever it takes’ message

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has claimed to be inspired by former Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan, but the central banker he appears to most frequently channel is Mario Draghi.

In seeking to prop up oil markets, the minister appears to be adopting a strategy akin to the pledge of the former European Central Bank president to do “whatever it takes”. The problem for Prince Abdulaziz, after a protracted Opec+ meeting in Vienna over the weekend, is that while the rest of the cartel might share his goal, it does not really share his commitment.

The only production cut coming out of two days of talk will be shouldered by Saudi Arabia alone, which will remove 1mn barrels a day — or about 10 per cent of the kingdom’s current production — from the market next month. And it’s only for a month, albeit with a promise that it could be extended.

The other producers in the 23-member group, which collectively pumps more than 40 per cent of the world’s oil, will keep their production largely as is, with existing curbs only formalised and extended into 2024 — a lifetime away in a volatile market.

Opec+ ministers, under pressure from Prince