British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks about energy security yesterday with the de facto leaders of Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates but secured no public pledge to ramp up production.
Johnson’s trip to Abu Dhabi and Riyadh was aimed at securing oil supplies and raising pressure on President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow and soaring world energy prices.
Johnson’s office said that in his meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, he stressed the need to work together to stabilise global energy markets. After his talks in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, Johnson was asked whether the kingdom would increase oil production.
“I think you’d need to talk to the Saudis about that. But I think there was an understanding of the need to ensure stability in global oil markets and gas markets,” he said.
So far Saudi Arabia and the UAE have snubbed US pleas to ramp up oil production to tame the rise in crude prices that threatens global recession after the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
“The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin’s addiction to oil and gas,” Johnson said before his meetings. “Saudi Arabia and the UAE are key international partners in that effort.”
The two Gulf states are among the few Opec oil exporters with spare oil capacity to raise output and potentially offset supply losses from Russia. But they have tried to steer a neutral stance between Western allies and Moscow, their partner in an oil producers’ grouping known as Opec+.
British PM Boris Johnson speaks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan during a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi. (Reuters)
