RIYADH: șÚÁÏÉçÇűâs Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that some were using their emergency stocks and using it as a mechanism to manipulate markets when its purpose should be to mitigate any shortages of supply.
âIt is my duty to make clear that losing emergency stocks may be painful in the months to come,â the minister said addressing the Future Initiative Investment (FII) conference in Riyadh.
US President Joe Biden announced a plan last week to sell off the rest of his release from the nationâs emergency oil reserve by the yearâs end and begin refilling the stockpile as he tries to dampen high gasoline prices ahead of midterm elections on November 8.
He also said șÚÁÏÉçÇű remained the worldâs most reliable oil supplier and had increased its sales to Europe to 950,000 barrels in September from 490,000 barrels the same time a year ago.
When asked about how to get the energy relationship with the US back on track, the prince said șÚÁÏÉçÇű had chosen to be âthe maturerâ party.
âWe keep hearing you âare with us or against us,â is there any room for âwe are with the people of șÚÁÏÉçÇűâ?â
Relations between the US and the Kingdom have become increasingly strained in recent weeks since OPEC+ announced a production cut, which was ostensibly seen by the White House as șÚÁÏÉçÇű aligning itself with Russia.
The Kingdom, OPECâs largest oil producer, denied the accusation and said that it was a purely economic decision intended to stabilize a volatile oil market.
