Politics or economics? OPEC+ surprises market with oil supply cuts

Capitol Crude: The US Energy Policy Podcast

OPEC+ surprised market watchers with plans to make more than 1.6 million b/d of voluntary oil supply cuts, starting in May.

On the podcast, Ben Salisbury, director of research and head energy policy analyst at Height Capital Markets, delves into some of the producer bloc’s motivations for pursuing crude oil production cuts while prices remain relatively high and what it could mean for US drivers at the pump as well as the Biden administration’s plans to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Salisbury also hit on implications for the already strained US-Saudi relationship as calls for retaliation have again been floated and whether the price cap on Russian crude could withstand any potential supply constraints.

Stick around after the interview for Binish Azhar with the Market Minute, a look at near-term oil market drivers.