OPEC+ agreed to open its oil taps faster in the summer months, a gesture of reconciliation to the US that nevertheless keeps Russia at the heart of the cartel. The White House welcomed the deal, which came after months of diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to mitigate the surge in energy prices that’s battered the economy since President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. The modest supply boost — amounting to just 0.4% of global demand over July and August — may ease tight markets. But it leaves unanswered the question of whether the US can turn Saudi Arabia into an ally in its campaign to economically isolate Russia. “The frost is melting in Saudi-US diplomatic relations, but it will take more progress before full normalization,” said Bill Farren-Price, a director at Enverus Intelligence Research. “Whether the US will be able to drive a wedge between Riyadh and Moscow is a bigger challenge.” Before Thursday’s OPEC+ meeting, oil had fallen on reports that Saudi Arabia and other members were prepared to fill the gap in the market created by Western sanctions on Russian oil, or even remove the country from the OPEC+ quota system altogether. Russia’s output has already fallen by about 1 million barrels a day since the start of the war and may drop further after the European Union agreed further sanctions on its oil. The policy shift eventually agreed upon by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies was far less dramatic. The group approved oil-production hikes of 648,000 barrels a day for July and August, about 50% larger than the increases seen in recent months. Moscow gave the plan its full backing and talks were concluded in just 11 minutes, delegates said, asking not to be named because the information was private. The deal was “a pretty minor tweak,” said Farren-Price. Given the cartel’s recent struggles to hit its production targets, several analysts predicted that the additional volumes that would actually reach the market would be much smaller than the headline figure. Opening the taps even just a little wider is still a turnaround for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom doggedly stuck to the OPEC+ plan for gradual monthly supply increases even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended global markets and sent energy prices soaring. Last week, the Saudi foreign minister said there was nothing more the country could do to tame oil markets, and even suggested there was no shortfall of crude. NN: as you know we had a good run of oil trade and i have stood aside. Now you can see why. My strategy was/is to stand aside and wait out the political drama and technically i want to see $120 oil breached. Biden has been a asshole to the Saudis. Now he has to suck wind and go hat in hand to the Saudis graveling in the sand begging for more oil. Ironic when the biggest fields in the world inside the US are off limits. I have been on a few graveling in the sand to the gulf nations…… They love that shit. For the record The Omega Trust has established offices and a presence in Dubai. More on that after i come out of my dark period,