Saudi Arabia denies withdrawal from OPEC+ deal

Saudi Arabia on Saturday denied withdrawing from the OPEC+ deal and its plan to get rid of shale oil producers.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency published two separate statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud both denying media reports in this regard, reports Xinhua news.

The news agency quoted several claims by Russian officials which hinted Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from the deal of OPEC+ and its plan to get rid of shale oil producers.

The Foreign Minister denied the reports and accused Russia of refusing the agreement, while the Kingdom and 22 other countries were trying to persuade Moscow to make further cuts and extend the agreement, yet it has not agreed.

He also stressed that the Kingdom's stance on shale oil production, saying "the stance is known as it is an important part of energy sources and the Kingdom is also seeking to reach more production cuts and achieve balance in the oil market, which is in the interest of shale oil producers".

The Minister hoped Russia would take the right decisions in the urgent meeting on which the Kingdom called on Thursday to be held for OPEC+ and other countries so as to reach a fair agreement that restores the desired balance of oil markets in order not to subject energy markets to risks again.

Meanwhile, the Energy Minister said that the Kingdom's oil policy focused on maintaining market balance and stability in the interests of both producers and consumers.

He said that Saudi Arabia has exerted efforts with OPEC+ countries to take action to prevent a glut in the oil market. IANS