The recent decision by the European Union to ban the import of Russian oil and natural gas has suffered a major set back following the refusal of Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC producer to increase its oil output to make up for the gap to be created by the embargo on Russian oil.
A statement from the Crown Prince of the kingdom Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) said that Saudi Arabia would continue to abide by its OPEC quota.
Europe depends on Forty percentage of its natural gas on Russia as well as thirty percent of its oil needs, and without guarantees of a steady replacement, would be committing economic suicide to proceed on the embargo.
Saudi Arabia has always been a very close ally of America and Europe until the advent of the Biden administration last year.
The Biden administration upset the relationship between the two close allies when it castigated the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince openly indicting him for the murder of the American journalist Khashoggi killed in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey 2018.
The Biden administration also criticized Saudi Arabia for its gross human rights records and refused to talk directly to the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman snubbing him for over a year. Saudi Arabia is also upset with the US over its failure to guarantee its security following strings of attacks against the kingdom’s oil facilities by the Iran backed Houti rebels in Yemen.
Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)is reported to have threatened to move the kingdom closer to Russia and China to punish Biden for ostracizing him since he became the USA president.
Consequently efforts by the Biden administration to get Saudi Arabia to support western sanctions on Russia by making up the vacuum to be created by the embargo on Russian oil hit the rocks.
Saudi Arabia did not condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia is the highest oil producer in OPEC producing 10,709,00 barrels of oil per but has the capacity to double that quantity if it decides.
It has an oil reserve of over two hundred and sixty six billion barrels followed by Russia with a total production of 9,580.00 and an estimated overall reserve of eighty billion barrels.
However the United States is the largest oil producer in the world producing a total of 12, 108,000 per day and has an estimated reserve of Forty there point eight billion barrels.
It’s important to note that Venezuela has the highest proven reserve of oil in the world, sitting on a vast oil reserve of about there hundred billion barrels of oil, but lack of maintenance culture, corruption and US sanctions on the country has reduced Venezuela to a very poor country. Canada has over one hundred and seventy billion barrels of oil reserve while Iran has over one hundred and fifty seven billion barrels of oil.
But like Venezuela Iran revolutionary government brought the country’s economic growth to a standstill through its malign behavior in the international system.
The United States despite being the largest producer of oil still imports some of its oil needs because it consumes more than it produces being a large industrial and economic power.
