Washington, D.C.—In response to Saudi Arabia’s “political and sovereign” decision to unilaterally cut 1 million barrels per day of oil production in addition to other OPEC members maintaining output cuts, which has sent U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate above $50, SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond made the following statement:
“The Saudi government has explicitly taken this action for its own political purposes, and proves why it is more important than ever for the United States to cut its outsized dependence on oil for transportation. The United States simply cannot afford to run the world’s biggest economy on a volatile commodity with a price that can be openly manipulated by the decisions and actions of a foreign government.”
The United States is the world’s largest oil consumer, accounting for approximately one-fifth of daily global supply, 70 percent of which is used to power a transportation system that is more than 90 percent dependent on petroleum.
“The age of electrification is coming, and the United States should be leading that transition. If we do not expedite our deployment and establish our leadership in electric vehicles for transportation, we will find ourselves merely swapping our dependence on an uncertain oil market to a reliance on batteries, vehicles and technologies from China. This unilateral decision by Saudi Arabia should be a wake-up call for such action to end oil dependence and lead in electrification,” Diamond added.
Contact: Alex Adams | 202.461.2374 | aadams@secureenergy.org
About SAFE
SAFE enhances the nation’s energy security and supports our economic resurgence and resiliency, by advancing transformative transportation and mobility technologies and ensuring that the United States secures key aspects of the technology supply chain to achieve and maintain our strategic advantage.
In partnership with the Electrification Coalition, SAFE’s sister organization, we work with consumers, businesses, and policymakers, to launch award-winning “real-world” programs and enable the needed polices to accelerate transportation electrification around the country to reduce our Nation’s dependence on oil.
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