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The Trump administration is considering intervening in the Saudi-Russian oil-price war with a diplomatic push to get the Saudis to cut oil production and threats of sanctions on Russia aimed at stabilizing markets, according to people familiar with the matter.
The new strategy follows lobbying from U.S. oil companies asking for the Trump administration to ramp up its diplomatic intervention in the oil markets, the people said.
The aim would be to find a way out of a price war, triggered by friction between Russia and Saudi Arabia, that has sent crude prices crashing and put dozens of U.S. producers at risk of bankruptcy.
The U.S. would ask the Saudis to return to their original, lower production levels from before their decision earlier this month to rapidly boost their output, according to one administration official familiar with the decision.
