U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday will launch a nearly two-week tour of three Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, marking his first visit as a U.S. official to the de facto leader of the OPEC oil producer group, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The trip, which will also include visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is expected to help lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s own visit to those countries likely in mid-May. It comes at a critical time, on the heels of Trump’s surprise announcement on Monday that the U.S. and Iran are having direct talks on Tehran’s nuclear program and as global oil prices hit a near four-year low.
Oil prices have fallen on worries that Trump’s latest tariffs could push economies around the world into recession at the same time OPEC+ oil producers speed up increases in production.
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