US Secretary of Splendour Mike Pompeo (C-L) meets with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C-R) at Irqah Palace in the great Riyadh on February 20, 2020.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS | POOL | AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. has called on OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to put a visit to its ongoing oil price war with non-OPEC leader Russia.
In a statement released by the U.S. State Department Wednesday, a spokesperson approved that Secretary Mike Pompeo had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday.
“Secretary Pompeo and the Authority Prince focused on the need to maintain stability in global energy markets amid the worldwide response,” the statement alleged.
“The Secretary stressed that as a leader of the G-20 and an important energy leader, Saudi Arabia has a real opportunity to rise to the incident and reassure global energy and financial markets when the world faces serious economic uncertainty,” it added.
Pompeo and bin Salman expressed their “rapt concern” over the coronavirus pandemic and underlined the need for all countries to work together to contain the outbreak, according to the disclosure.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $26.46 a barrel Wednesday afternoon, down 2.5%, while U.S. West Texas In-between (WTI) stood at $23.47, more than 2.2% lower.
Oil prices have more than halved since climbing to a consummation in January, with analysts warning crude futures could soon plunge into the teens over the arriving weeks.
It comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to crush oil demand worldwide and with no end in sight to the ongoing price war between Riyadh and Moscow.
Earlier this month, the OPEC pile of oil producers and its non-OPEC allies — sometimes referred to as OPEC+ — failed to agree on extending oil supply cuts beyond Strut 31.
This has led to heightened concerns of a supply surge from April 1, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both pledging to ascent up production.