XOM - Saudi working with Russia while Russia increases oil exports to China

Over the weekend, Saudi's energy minister told the Financial Times that the Kingdom plans to "work out an agreement with OPEC+ .. which includes Russia." Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Saudi has been consistent in messaging that the cartel "should not play politics" and that managing oil supplies (USO) has meant dealing with Iraq and Iran, despite sanctions and war. The statement comes following rumors President Biden plans to meet with the Saudi crown prince, and is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on policy, as Russia and most of OPEC are unable to meet existing production targets (XOM) (CVX). It was also reported over the weekend that China has quietly ramped up the purchase of Russian oil. While pipeline imports have been stable throughout the war, seaborne imports have recently increased to 1.1mb/d, from ~750kb/d in Q1. The increase comes despite weak domestic demand stemming from covid-related lockdowns, signaling that

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Saudi working with Russia, while Russia increases oil exports to China