McConnell-Led Republican Delegation to Meet With UAE President

McConnell is leading a Republican delegation to the oil-rich Gulf following his visit to the Munich Security Conference last week. The Senate minority leader will be joined by Republican Senators Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Alabama’s Katie Britt, according to the people familiar. A McConnell spokesperson declined to comment.

Sheikh Mohammed, commonly referred to as MBZ, was officially named ruler last year after the death of his older brother. His country is estimated to hold 6% of the world’s proven oil reserves.

The meeting comes the OPEC+ producers group signals it won’t budge on oil production targets set in October. That’s even as some prominent oil industry voices such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the International Energy Agency predict that markets will tighten significantly in the second half of the year if the group keeps output unchanged.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other OPEC+ nations decided in October 2022 to cut production by 2 million barrels a day, a move intended to halt a drop in prices caused by decreasing global demand. The decision was also seen as a personal blow to US President Joe Biden, whose administration lobbied against the cuts, seeking to keep production high and prices low for Americans ahead of last November’s midterm elections.

The move spurred anger in the White House, where Biden has warned of repercussions for the Saudis, as well as in Congress, where lawmakers floated legislation targeting OPEC and arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Those threats have yet to materialize, and the US has sought to highlight ties with the Gulf Arab region since then, particular over shared concerns about Iran.

McConnell on Sunday held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s minister of energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, during which the Republican senators were given an explanation of the OPEC+ decision last fall. The senators were told the administration sought a 30-day delay in the output cut but were refused, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

The White House accused Saudi Arabia of coercing other OPEC+ countries into the cut. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby in October said the US had sought a delay until the next OPEC meeting, which would have fallen in December 2022.

Saudi Arabia rejected the criticism, saying OPEC+ had aimed to avoid oil-market volatility. It denied the kingdom was taking a stance against the US.