Washington, D.C. – Responding to today’s announcement in Algiers that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has come to a tentative agreement to cut oil production, Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) President and CEO Robbie Diamond said:

“Free markets function on transparency. Western business leaders would be put in the penitentiary if they behaved the way that OPEC has today and over the past 40 years—by both colluding on production levels, and maintaining secrecy in their agreements. Of course, the burden of this market manipulation falls on the world’s oil consumers including American families and businesses. It proves, yet again, that there’s no free market for oil, and relatively low oil prices are no reason to lose perspective on the critical need to end our dependence on this highly volatile commodity.”

Today’s announcement, which is being described as the first production cut by the group in roughly eight years, pushed oil prices up by almost 6 percent. OPEC’s tentative cut would reduce its output by up to 1 mbd from today’s levels, although details have not been released on how individual countries, including disrupted producers such as Iran, Libya, and Nigeria, would be integrated into the new target if an agreement is finalized. Those details are expected to be released at the group’s next formal meeting on November 30 in Vienna, Austria.

In addition to supporting domestic sources of supply, SAFE advocates for a range of policies designed to reduce American oil dependence, which undermines the country’s economic and national security. These include stringent fuel economy standards in the light, medium, and heavy duty vehicle fleets, widespread adoption of electricity and natural gas as transportation fuels, and the expeditious deployment of autonomous vehicles.

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About Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE)

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is a nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil in order to bolster national security and strengthen the economy. SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in fuel efficiency, and in the long-term, breaking oil’s stranglehold on the transportation sector through alternatives like natural gas for heavy-duty trucks and plug-in electric vehicles. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil. Today, the ESLC is co-chaired by Frederick W. Smith and General James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

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