US President Joe Biden has blamed Russia and Saudi Arabia for the high oil prices, and Riyadh has denied intentionally harming the United States by reducing oil production, but many US lawmakers have called on Biden to take action.

And in a speech on the economy in Maryland, the US President warned - yesterday, Friday - of Republican control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, and their possible impact on prices in the United States.

Biden acknowledged the rise in prices in the country, noting that he was able to reduce gasoline prices, while attributing their rise to Russia and Saudi Arabia through the Organization of "OPEC Plus".

In turn, Brian Nelson, the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (Finance), considered that the OPEC Plus decision reflects "short-sightedness", because the organization's responsibility is to ensure that energy markets are supplied with supplies.

He added that Biden is in talks with the Secretary of Energy about options available to meet the needs of the American people.

And the “OPEC Plus” group (OPEC +) decided on Wednesday to reduce its oil production by about two million barrels per day, starting from November 2022, compared to what was required for production in August 2022, to raise oil prices in the international market and reach $ 93.3 A barrel of Brent crude, and about $87.7 a barrel of US crude.

With the rise in oil prices, talk returned about the NOPEC bill, which was proposed in 2007 in Congress, which aims to combat monopoly and put pressure on members of the "OPEC" and "OPEC Plus" groups to raise world supplies.

The "OPEC Plus" bloc includes members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in addition to independent oil producers, most notably Russia.

Saudi exile

For his part, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir denied that his country aims to harm the United States by reducing oil production.

In an interview with the American "Fox News" network, Al-Jubeir stressed that Riyadh and Washington have had a strategic relationship for eight decades.

He added, "Saudi Arabia does not politicize oil or the decisions related to it. Oil is not a weapon, a fighter plane, or a tank. In our view, it is an important commodity for the global economy in which we have a large share."

Schumer: What Saudi Arabia did to help Putin continue his war in Ukraine will remain in the memory of the Americans (European)

American anger

The OPEC Plus decision to reduce oil production by two million barrels per day angered a number of American lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican parties, who called on the administration to take measures to respond to this decision.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that what Saudi Arabia did to help Russian President Vladimir Putin continue his war in Ukraine will remain in the memory of Americans for a long time, he said.

He added that he will study all possible legislative tools to deal with this measure, which he described as "horrific", including the NOPEC bill.

For his part, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley called for punishing OPEC for its decision to cut production, by passing legislation that would hold foreign oil producers responsible for complicity in fixing prices.

Grassley said that OPEC and its partners have ignored President Biden's pleas to increase production, and are now colluding to cut production and raise global oil prices.

Grassley confirmed that he supports the NOPEC draft resolution, and intends to include it as an amendment to the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz accused President Biden of causing this crisis with his destructive energy and foreign policies, and said he was very disappointed with the Saudi decision, wishing the Saudis would act as an ally under the current circumstances.


Invitation to review

In an interview with CNBC, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, Chris Murphy, said it was time for a comprehensive assessment of the US alliance with Saudi Arabia.

The Democratic senator added that the United States needs the Saudis to take steps that may affect their short-term profits when it comes to oil revenues, but that will allow the West to survive in the face of Russia.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also considered that Saudi Arabia's decision to reduce oil production during the global energy crisis helps Russia's war on Ukraine and increases the repercussions of higher prices on consumers.

He believed that the continued dependence of the United States on Saudi Arabia constituted a threat to American national security, as he put it.

A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Ro Khanna, described the OPEC Plus cut in oil production as "outrageous", and considered that it would strengthen Russia and Putin and affect consumers in the United States and Europe.

In an interview with the American "Fox News" channel, the Democratic representative called to stop sending weapons to Saudi Arabia, unless OPEC reverses its decision.