The American Wall Street Journal revealed that Saudi Arabia has threatened to ignite a new oil price war, amid disputes with Angola and Nigeria over production cuts.
The newspaper quoted delegates from OPEC that the Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman issued a warning during a meeting of OPEC on the 18th of last June that his country would sell its oil at discounted prices after the two countries refused to declare their commitment to restrictions that reduce production.
The newspaper also revealed that the Minister of Energy of Angola Diamantino Azevedo, whose country will head OPEC next year, refused to respond to contacts made with him by his Saudi counterpart, and he refused to attend the organization's meeting held on June 18 last year.
The newspaper indicated that the Saudi minister sought to mend relations with Angola and asked for the assistance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who last Monday called Nigerian President Muhammad Bukhari and asked him to interfere with Angola. The Saudi Press Agency confirmed this contact but said that the two sides discussed the OPEC Plus agreement Without providing further clarifications.
Saudi Arabia and Russia
This development comes just months after Saudi Arabia launched a price war against Russia, following disputes over how to supply global markets with the emergence of the emerging Corona virus.
Saudi Arabia's behavior in early March led to an immediate collapse in oil prices, which fell 25% in the United States to its lowest level since 2016.
The sudden meltdown of prices forced Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and other oil-producing countries to consider budget cuts, while American producers moved to cut their spending.
Last April, the Saudis and Russians resolved their differences and joined an effort involving 23 countries to cut production by 10% to support prices, and the group extended the deal on June 6.