‘The Arabs can’t stand it anymore’

toggle switch for petroleum in Europe. The UAE is “at peak” of its production and neighboring Saudi Arabia can only add about 150,000 b/d. This is a message Emmanuel Macron to me Joe Biden Captured by Reuters TV cameras during the G7 in Germany. The French president reported on a conversation he had with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

G7, yes to the gas and oil cap: “Now it’s Europe’s turn.” But Germany is still cautious

Final oil, what happens

What Macron told Biden could be a wake-up call or even a simple provocation. The French president said that the ruler of the UAE had confided to him that the two largest oil exporters in OPEC were already pumping as much oil as possible.

Biden was counting on Arab countries to produce more oil, but a few hours ago French President Macron was heard telling Biden that the UAE was at its maximum capacity and the Saudis couldn’t produce more. It appears to be a direct appeal to Biden to produce more oil. pic.twitter.com/vRWJVpn3El

– Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) 27 June 2022

UAE response

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei immediately tried to put out the flames of controversy. He said that Abu Dhabi is producing close to the ceiling allowed under its agreement with OPEC +. The figures Macron cited — which contradict official data from the two Persian Gulf energy giants — suggest that the slack barrier in global oil markets has nearly been exhausted, complicating efforts to squeeze Russian supplies in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.

Suhail Al Mazrouei: The UAE is producing close to its maximum production capacity based on the current baseline of OPEC + productionTweet embedTweet embedTweet embed pic.twitter.com/qUTUdAXOke

– Knights of the Emirates (UAE_Forsan) 27 June 2022

Conversation between Macron and Biden

Macron said that Mohammed bin Zayed, as the leader of the United Arab Emirates is known, “told me two things.” “First, they have reached the maximum” levels of oil production, Macron said, which equates to the “full commitment of the UAE” to this sector. “Secondly, he told me that the Saudis could increase a little bit” around 150,000 barrels per day or “a little bit more,” he added. “They don’t have huge capabilities” that can be activated in less than six months, he said. Al Mazrouei said on Twitter that the UAE was “producing almost to its maximum production capacity based on the current OPEC+ baseline” of 3.168 million barrels per day. He said the baseline – set in an agreement between OPEC and its allies – remains in place until the end of the year.

Prices go up

Oil prices are up more than 60% this year, as crude oil production and refining plants around the world fail to keep pace with a post-pandemic recovery in fuel demand, as the backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks the biggest supply disruption in decades.