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Asked by the moderator at an industry event about whether OPEC+
has a moral responsibility to expel Russia from the group, Saudi
Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said "everybody
leaves his politics at the door" when they hold meetings.
"If we don't do that we would not have dealt with so many
countries at different times. It could have been with Iraq at
one point, it could have been with Iran at one point."
OPEC+ has come under increasing pressure to pump more crude
since Russia, the largest producer in the OPEC+ group, invaded
Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Western nations enacted sanctions in
response that have curtailed Russian oil exports.
Both Prince Abdulaziz and UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei
said the focus was on balancing crude oil markets and satisfying
consumers.
"We have one mission and only one mission which is stabilizing
the market. So we cannot be politicizing, or bringing politics
to the organization having that debate ... our aim is to calm
the market," said Mazrouei.
"If we are asking anyone to leave, then we are raising the
prices, then we are doing something that is against what
consumers want."
The Gulf states, close U.S. allies, are members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as
OPEC+, which includes OPEC and other large oil producers such as
Russia and Mexico.
Prince Abdulaziz said Russia produces enough oil every day equal
to about 10% of the world's consumption.
If the security of oil supplies is threatened the world economy
will suffer. That security is a priority now and some countries
are forgetting about the affordability of energy, he said.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on Saudi
Arabia's oil facilities in recent weeks and ahead of a temporary
truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The movement have
also launched attacks on the UAE.
Houthis said they launched recent attacks on Saudi energy
facilities and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's
petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit,
causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties.
Prince Abdulaziz drew attention to the politics at play inside
OPEC that members have to accept.
"I ask you, who has been throwing these rockets and missiles at
us and at Abu Dhabi? Who is financing? Who's training?," he said
at the industry event, referring to Saudi Arabia's rival Iran,
also a key player in OPEC.
"Who's supplying these weapons? It is a member of OPEC. I leave
it for your imagination ... A cynical mind sometimes helps."
(Reporting by Maha El-Dahan, Riham Alkousaa and Yousef Saba;
Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Christian
Schmollinger and David Evans)
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