British PM Boris Johnson visits Gulf, seeks more oil from Saudi Arabia, UAE

Boris Johnson began a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to try to persuade the OPEC members to step up oil production and help lower energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The British prime minister met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAE’s de facto ruler, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, before travelling to Riyadh for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

“The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin’s addiction to oil and gas,” Johnson said. “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term.” 

Saudi Arabia and the UAE pump more than 13 million barrels of oil a day between them and are among the few producers with significant spare capacity.