United Arab Emirates to nudge Opec allies to increase oil production

United Arab Emirates to nudge Opec allies to increase oil production

The United Arab Emirates will encourage fellow Opec members to increase oil production as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven crude prices to their highest levels in more than a decade, a senior official said.

The UAE is the first Opec member to call on the alliance to boost its production since Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, triggered a global crisis by ordering his troops into Ukraine two weeks ago.

Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to Washington, said in a statement to the Financial Times: “We favour production increases and will be encouraging Opec to consider higher production levels.”

“The UAE has been a reliable and responsible supplier of energy to global markets for more than 50 years and believes that stability in energy markets is critical to the global economy,” he added.

The Emirati ambassador’s statement came a day after US President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on imports of Russian crude, sparking fears that other countries would follow in blocking Russian energy flows.

The Biden administration has for weeks been pressing oil producers to increase their output to help reduce prices. But the Opec+ alliance, which includes Russia, has declined to go beyond a plan agreed last year to increase production each