--- description: Saudi Arabia will not cut oil production to boost depressed prices, a reversal in the kingdom’s usual policy of moderating supply title: Saudi Arabia Won't Cut Oil Production image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbd44fa7618ee622/69877067524fc00dd5deb938/mideast-emirates-oil_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Saudi Arabia](/tag/saudi-arabia/) ## Saudi Arabia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Saudi Arabia Won't Cut Oil Production to Boost Prices by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 5:48 AM CUT  Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi attends the opening day of 10th Arab Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 21, 2014 Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi attends the opening day of 10th Arab Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 21, 2014Kamran Jebreili—AP by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 5:48 AM CUT Saudi Arabia will not [cut](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/21/us-oil-prices-saudi-idUSKBN0JZ05W20141221 "undefined") oil production to boost depressed prices, a reversal in the kingdom’s usual policy of moderating supply to control prices and sending a strong message about the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) strategy for dealing with a slumped oil market. Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi told reporters on Sunday that even if non-OPEC countries cut production, Saudi Arabia would not follow them, Reuters reports. Other ministers, including from Kuwait and Iraq, repeated the Saudi minister’s insistence on retaining steady production levels. A boom in U.S. shale-gas production has flooded the global oil market and sent gas prices tanking. The _Wall Street Journal_ reports that Saudi Arabia’s refusal to cut oil production has led to [speculation](http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-saudis-decided-not-to-prop-up-oil-1419219182 "undefined") that the world’s top petroleum exporter could be seeking to knock gas prices even lower, testing U.S. shale-gas producers resolve to keep pumping. Saudi Arabia has denied any such plot and American officials have reiterated that the U.S. maintains close and friendly relations with the kingdom. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/21/us-oil-prices-saudi-idUSKBN0JZ05W20141221 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3643558/saudi-arabia-gas-prices-opec/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3643558/saudi-arabia-gas-prices-opec/"},"headline":"Saudi Arabia Won't Cut Oil Production to Boost Prices","datePublished":"2014-12-22T05:48:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:03:01.683Z","description":"Global oil prices are tanking, but OPEC is holding firm on not slashing production to buoy prices","url":"https://time.com/3643558/saudi-arabia-gas-prices-opec/","keywords":["Saudi Arabia","Oil","Gas","OPEC","Gas prices"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbd44fa7618ee622/69877067524fc00dd5deb938/mideast-emirates-oil_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbd44fa7618ee622/69877067524fc00dd5deb938/mideast-emirates-oil_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ali Ibrahim Naimi","caption":"Ali Ibrahim Naimi","creditText":"Kamran Jebreili—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/saudi-arabia/","name":"Saudi Arabia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3643558/saudi-arabia-gas-prices-opec/","name":"Saudi Arabia Won't Cut Oil Production to Boost Prices"}}]}] ```