US oil producers and Saudi Arabian officials informed US President Donald Trump that they would not ramp up drilling oil, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Earlier, Trump said lower oil prices would solve many global issues, including the war in Ukraine, as oil sales were one of Russia’s main revenue sources.
However, sources familiar with the matter said that the Trump administration had already realised that the “drill, baby, drill” plan was unlikely to be implemented, with another US oil boom not expected anytime soon.
The US oil industry shifted its focus from drilling fever, which led to the bankruptcy of many companies, to cutting costs and compensating investors. Against the backdrop of such developments, Trump decided to persuade Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to release more oil to the global market.
Trump planned to reduce the price from $73 per barrel to $45. However, such a reduction could prove “catastrophic” for US shale producers and Saudi Arabia, sources said.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of oil drillers went bankrupt as prices collapsed.
