The Biden administration is urging OPEC to find a compromise to increase oil production after talks collapsed between members on Monday, sent prices rising and increased the risk of drivers having to pay more at the pumps
The Biden administration is urging OPEC to find a compromise to increase oil production after talks collapsed between members on Monday, sent prices rising and increased the risk of drivers having to pay more at the pumps.
The White House has called on nations in the energy alliance including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to come to an agreement to match surging demands for oil across the world, according to reports.
The group of Friday voted to increase oil production by 2 million barrels per day between August and the end of the year. But a meeting on Monday was called off and put plans to hike production in limbo.
'Administration officials have been engaged with relevant capitals to urge a compromise solution that will allow proposed production increases to move forward,' a Biden official told Bloomberg News.
The staffer also told the outlet it's critical energy supplies stay in line with demand as the US and the world gradually recovers from the pandemic.
The impasse follows a July 4 weekend where Americans faced seven-year high prices at the pumps.
The average price of a gallon of gas stands at $3.13, up 95 cents, or 44 per cent, from 2020.
The impasse follows a July 4 weekend where Americans faced seven-year high prices at the pumps. The average price of a gallon of gas stands at $3.13, up 95 cents, or 44 per cent, from 2020
Drivers on the West coast are seeing an average of up to $4.30 at the pump as demand continues to surge
OPEC hasn't set a date for the next meeting and, if they don't make a deal, allies likely won't increase production in August which would mean oil supplies in the US will be below demand.
OPEC, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, accounts for almost half of the world's oil production and more than 80 percent of the world's reserves.
Their mission is to coordinate petroleum prices to ensure the stabilization of the global oil markets.
The group is mostly made up of Middle East crude oil producers and is led bu Saudi Arabia.
US oil prices finished above $75 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in nearly three years, and are now trading near $75.50.
Speaking to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television channel on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman called for 'compromise and rationality' in order to reach a deal on Monday, according to reports
Prices have gone up because of the soaring demand for gasoline and jet fuel as the US reopens.
OPEC could help level-off prices by increasing production to meet the increase in demand.
But talks were called off on Monday.
Speaking to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television channel on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman called for 'compromise and rationality' in order to reach a deal on Monday, Reuters reported.
In an unusual public confrontation with leading cartel member Saudi Arabia, the UAE on Sunday pushed back against the OPEC Plus group, which includes non-OPEC producers like Russia.
The UAE said it supported a proposed gradual increase in production favored by Saudi Arabia, the group's largest producer, and by non-member Russia. But the UAE said it also wanted an increase in its own permitted level of production.
Despite the public clash, oil markets traded only modestly higher Monday. Crude oil rose 1.5 percent to $76.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while international Brent crude rose 1.3 percent to $77.20 per barrel.
There are concerns that if an agreement cannot be
