US Likely to Keep Response to OPEC+ Cuts Limited to Increasing Own Supply, Expert Says

MOSCOW, (Sputnik), Kirill Krasilnikov - The United States is unlikely to resort to serious punitive measures against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the wake of OPEC+ agreeing to slash oil production, Robert Singh, a professor of politics at Birkbeck, University of London, told Sputnik.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that Washington was considering a number of response options against Saudi Arabia after the energy alliance decided to cut oil production by two million barrels per day.

"I think that the US response is more likely to involve its own supply — increasing the release of oil from its own reserves — than punitive measures against Saudi Arabia and other GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states," Singh said.

According to the expert, GCC countries wanted to shield themselves from a possible recession by maximizing their revenues now. When asked if Washington would go as far as to withdraw its troops from Saudi Arabia and reduce military cooperation with the country, as proposed by some US Congress members, Singh said it was hard to see President Joe Biden making a major response in terms of the US presence in the region.

"For one thing, it is one of the few sources of leverage left to Washington, especially in terms of its desire to form a coalition to restrain and counter Iran. Withdrawing would simply reduce US influence even more, and open the way to other great powers to fill the vacuum," Singh explained, adding that "it is also likely that the Pentagon would be reluctant to accept this."

He suggested that there could be a redeployment of some troops within the region but anything more significant would mark the end of the US partnership with the Saudis and Biden "would be very hesitant about such a radical move."

On Wednesday, OPEC+ announced that the alliance agreed to cut oil production by two million barrels per day from November and will take production levels agreed for August as a reference point. The move was made in response to uncertainty in global oil market outlooks, in part caused by Western sanctions on Russian energy deliveries and the G7 plans to introduce a price cap on Russian crude. The decision received backlash from the US, which demanded an increase in production to combat rising domestic prices.