US Believes OPEC Can Expand Oil Production, Expects More Steps Soon

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States believes that the OPEC countries have the opportunity to increase oil production and expects that they will take steps in this direction in the upcoming weeks, US Senior Adviser for Energy Security Amos Hochstein said on Sunday.

Hochstein accompanied US President Joe Biden on his trip to the Middle East, which included a visit to Saudi Arabia and the participation in the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"Based on what we heard on the trip I'm pretty confident that we will see a few more steps in the upcoming weeks," Hochstein said on "Face the Nation" CBS show.

The senior adviser recalled that OPEC countries had previously promised to expand oil production in July and August by 50% compared to the originally planned increase in quotas.

"I believe there is still more room to see additional steps," he added.

According to Hochstein, the US authorities expect that there will be an increase in production of the private oil sector by one million barrels per day in country by the end of the year. The government can then abandon the emergency supply intervention in the oil market, he added.

On July 13, Joe Biden vowed to continue releasing emergency oil reserves to add to supply to lower US fuel pump prices.

"I will continue to do everything I can to bring down the price of gas," Biden said in a statement released by the White House. "I will continue my historic release of oil from our strategic petroleum reserve."

A gallon of unleaded gasoline, the most in-demand fuel product at US pumps, averaged $4.63 on July 13, versus the record high of $5.01 a month ago. US crude oil prices, meanwhile, have fallen 20% from around $120 a barrel a month ago to just under $100 now.

Following Biden's talks with Saudi leaders during his visit to the Kingdom, the White House released a fact sheet on July 16 saying that Riadh has committed to help in balancing the global oil market to help stabilize prices in the coming weeks.

"Saudi Arabia has committed to support global oil market balancing for sustained economic growth. The United States has welcomed the increase in production levels 50 percent above what was planned for July and August. These steps and further steps that we anticipate over the coming weeks have and will help stabilize markets considerably," the release read.

However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated the same day the fact sheet was released that the only thing Riyadh can do is boost crude production from 10 million barrels per day to 13 million per day by 2027, adding that there is no additional capacity beyond that. MBS also highlighted that unified efforts were required to keep the global economy afloat and that unrealistic policies regarding energy sources could instigate further inflation.

Meanwhile, in June alone, OPEC countries has already increased the oil production by 234,000 barrels per day to 28.7 million barrels per day.

"According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.72 mb/d in June 2022, higher by 234 tb/d m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, IR Iran, Kuwait and Angola, while production in Libya and Venezuela declined," the report read.

According to the report, the OPEC countries have fulled the oil deal by 229% in June by cutting output by 1.058 million barrels per day in excess of obligations.