OPEC’s largest oil producer is willing to work with all parties to balance the crude market in 2019, and that could include U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC on Sunday.
Asked if he would work with Trump, al-Falih replied, “We will work with all interested producers who want to bring stability to the market … OPEC plus and anybody else who would like to do it with us.”
The American president has been vocally critical of the 14-member oil cartel, calling for increased production to keep prices low while the group, along with non-OPEC members like Russia, orchestrated output cuts in order to stem the fall in the market and support their own export-dependent economies. “OPEC plus” refers to the group’s cooperation with non-OPEC producers like Russia and other former Soviet states, as well as Mexico.
The energy minister also confirmed the timeline for the long-delayed public listing of Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state energy giant. Asked if the listing was still planned for 2021, al-Falih replied, “Yes, yes that’s the correct target.”
