Republican representatives from the House Oversight and Reform Committee are probing an alleged "secret" US-Saudi deal to boost oil production ahead of the midterms, which, however, was never realized, according to a letter unveiled on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2022) Republican representatives from the House Oversight and Reform Committee are probing an alleged "secret" US-Saudi deal to boost oil production ahead of the midterms, which, however, was never realized, according to a letter unveiled on Monday.
"The Committee is investigating reports of a 'secret deal to boost oil production' between the Biden Administration and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "If the Administration is brokering secret agreements to the detriment of American energy producers and for campaign purposes, the American people deserve to know."
The lawmakers are requesting all documents and communications between Biden administration officials and any representatives of member countries of OPEC, including Saudi Arabia, regarding the matter.
The authors of the letter cited a New York Times report from October, which claimed that the White House thought it had struck a deal with Saudi Arabia to ramp up oil production and felt duped when OPEC+ made the exact opposite decision in October, despite President Joe Biden's visit to the kingdom in July.
The lawmakers believe that the American people have the right to know about any "backdoor deals" inked by President Biden or his administration officials.
Moreover, the group of Republican lawmakers also believe that the Biden administration had plans to strike a deal with the kingdom aiming to provide Democrats with a more favorable position ahead of the midterm elections.
Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, who is expected to become the chairman of the committee when the new Congress is seated on January 3, has asked the administration's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Affairs at the State Department Amos Hochstein to contact the committee to make arrangements to testify on the matter.
In October, OPEC+ unanimously agreed to take 2 million barrels of oil per day off the market, starting in November, in response to uncertainty in global energy markets. The decision caused a backlash in the White House, which announced it will revisit the relationship with Saudi Arabia in view of its step to support the OPEC+ decision.
On Sunday, the OPEC+ alliance decided to maintain the current quotas for oil production after considering a further cut.
