Pariahs no more? Three problematic oil states that are back in favour

Three checkered oil regimes that President Joe Biden and past US leaders have spectacularly snubbed are now targets of US outreach as global fuel prices reach jarring levels.

Ellen Knickmeyer and Cathy Bussewitz

Mar 10, 2022 – 4.42pm

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Washington | Three checkered oil regimes that President Joe Biden and past US leaders have spectacularly snubbed – Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran – are now targets of US outreach as global fuel prices reach jarring levels amid the Ukraine crisis.

But it is not clear any US diplomacy could get more crude oil on the market fast enough to help the current supply crunch, or tear once-shunned oil states away from what – for Saudi Arabia in particular – are profitable alliances with Russia.