“By increasing its production, Arabia was not trying to mistreat American oil”, prince Abdulaziz bin Salman

(Agence Ecofin) – In an interview with Energy Intelligence, Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman (photo) said that Saudi Arabia did not intend to hurt American oil producers with its decision to increase production and cut prices for refiners.

This statement puts an end to the rumor that the Russia-Saudi Arabia clash was intended to sabotage the stability of the American shale. A rumor fueled by the Russian president who had indicated that the Saudi posture was intended to bankrupt the American shale.

The Minister of Energy also revealed that the decision was taken by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman just after the failure of the OPEC + Russia deal.

Before the crisis ended on Sunday, leaders of Saudi Arabia and Russia swapped charges over responsibility for the failure of the previous agreement.

“I would like to make it clear that it was not our intention to cause damage to their industry. My belief is that once this market stabilizes, and given the nature of shale oil and the shale industry, they will be able to recover as the market recovers and as the world economy will start again. So I have no doubt that in the future they will rise from the ashes and prosper. “, explained the leader.

Asked about the new nature of relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia “It can happen that within a family, we end up with differences of opinion. I wouldn’t call it a quarrel. In the end, a family is a family. When faced with a difficult situation, family members cope and the feeling of brotherhood prevails “.

As a reminder, Russia and Saudi Arabia have decided to reduce the supply of 9.7 million barrels per day between May and June.

Olivier de Souza

– .