Johnson arrives in Gulf to meet Saudi, UAE leaders in plea to boost oil production amid rights concerns

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to lobby Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pump more oil to calm turbulent markets as he meets the Gulf states' leadership on Wednesday.

Johnson arrived in Abu Dhabi for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and was due to fly to Riyadh later as the West seeks to end its dependency on Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine.

His visit, as oil prices seesaw in extreme volatility, coincides with fresh condemnation of the UAE and Saudi Arabia's human rights record after 81 men were put to death in a mass execution in the kingdom on Saturday.

The UAE has also been slammed for jailing political activists, torturing British visitors on spurious charges, and supporting anti-democratic movements in the region.

Johnson will also meet de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he becomes one of the few Western leaders to visit Riyadh since the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

US President Joe Biden and Prince Mohammed haven't spoken since Biden took office and vowed to treat the kingdom as a "pariah" state after Khashoggi's killing, which the CIA blamed on the Saudi royal. 

The UK leader's spokesman insisted he would raise human rights concerns and the recent executions, and would ask bin Salman to condemn Russia's President Vladimir Putin over its assault on Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are two of the world's biggest oil exporters and both have ties to Russia, have so far avoided taking a position against Russia.

But Johnson said before leaving that the impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "brutal and unprovoked" assault will be felt far beyond Europe.

'Putin's addiction'

He added that as Western sanctions begin to bite, a new international coalition was needed to offset their impact on consumers already feeling the pinch from rising inflation and increases in the cost of living.

"The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas," he said in a statement.

"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."

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the UK's two largest economic partners in the region, with bilateral trade worth £12.2 billion ($15.9 billion, 14.5 billion euros) and £10.4 billion respectively in 2020, Johnson's office said.

The prime minister is hoping he can persuade bin Salman to boost his kingdom's oil production to help lower spiralling prices that are pushing up household energy bills.

Germany last week issued an "urgent appeal" to the Saudi-led OPEC oil producers group to increase production "to create relief on the market" because of supply fears.

Like the United States, the UK plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year, as part of wide-ranging sanctions targeting Russian businesses and billionaires.

Russian imports account for 8.0 percent of total UK oil demand -- less than in mainland Europe, where there has been a reluctance to turn the taps off completely.

Last week, countries including Germany warned against an abrupt ban on Russian energy imports given the lack of immediate alternative supplies.

Russia is the world's largest producer of gas and second-largest oil producer behind OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, Middle East and North Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said efforts to bring down oil prices have so far amounted to little.

He said the odds were "stacked against Johnson as he seeks to secure a shift in Saudi and OPEC oil policy".

"Saudi Arabia has so far proved reluctant to deviate from the current OPEC+ framework and plan, which mandates incremental monthly production increases," he told AFP.

"The framework has been highly effective during the Covid-19 pandemic and there is strong reluctance to change course."

Soltvedt said the UAE "may be more willing to open the taps" as it wants to capitalise on its oil reserves more quickly.

But the UAE on 10 March reaffirmed its commitment to OPEC+ alliance agreements to stick to existing output targets through April.