Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates supports an increase in oil production and will encourage OPEC members to contemplate higher outputs, said the ambassador of UAE to Washington on Wednesday.

Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba, UAE Embassy in Washington stated that “We favor production rises and will encourage OPEC to contemplate higher production levels.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken stated that increased oil production was supported by the UAE.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with its allies, including Russia, have been restoring 5.8million barrels per hour in production cuts during the last few months. An additional 400,000 bpd are due in April in order to repair supply cuts that were made prior to the 2020 pandemic.

However, they have resisted US and NATO calls to increase production in the face of rising oil prices.

These comments were made by the ambassador just days after U.S. president Joe Biden issued an immediate ban against Russian oil imports and other energy imports, in retaliation of Russia’s invasion.

While the U.S. will see higher energy prices, Biden claimed that this ban was needed to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invading.

Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Energy Secretary, stated Tuesday that Washington had called on all global producers to boost supply because the United States won’t pressure other countries to do the same and prohibit Russian oil imports.