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Trump-era pressure on Saudi oil output linked to nuclear fast-track claim
The story links the push to keep oil prices in a stated “Trump Oil Price Range” to Saudi concerns about US shale, where Saudi oil revenue relied heavily on crude receipts.
OilPrice recounts a claim from the early Trump administration that a senior White House official told the outlet off the record that the US would not tolerate further Saudi “crap,” referencing the aftermath of the 2014 to 2016 oil price war.
According to the piece, Saudi Arabia had viewed the then-emerging US shale sector as an existential threat, and during the price war Saudi Arabia encouraged other OPEC members to raise production to drive down prices and pressure American shale producers.
The article says the US ultimately “won” the oil price war as shale producers reorganized into lower-cost operations, leaving Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members with significant lost revenue and fiscal deficits.
It further argues that during the remainder of Trump’s first term, the administration kept pressing Saudi Arabia to manage oil prices within a so-called “Trump Oil Price Range,” while adding that this approach created economic strain for Saudi Arabia and OPEC.