Saudi reassures Canada on oil supplies as dispute drags on

Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies to Canada will not be impacted by a dispute between the two countries, the kingdom’s energy minister said on Thursday, reassuring customers after Riyadh froze new trade with Canada and ruled out mediation efforts.

The world’s largest oil exporter has a “firm and long-standing policy” that petroleum supplies are not influenced by political considerations, Khalid al-Falih said in a statement.

“The current diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada will not, in any way, impact Saudi Aramco’s relations with its customers in Canada.”

Saudi Arabia, infuriated by Canada’s demand last week that jailed rights activists in the kingdom be released immediately, expelled the Canadian ambassador on Sunday, blocked imports of Canadian grain and ended state-backed educational and medical programs in Canada.

Bilateral trade between Canada and Saudi Arabia is worth nearly $4 billion a year. Canadian exports to



Saudi Arabia were about $1.12 billion in 2017, or 0.2 percent of the total value of Canadian exports.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir ruled out any mediation efforts and called on Ottawa on Wednesday to “fix its big mistake,” saying the kingdom was considering implementing more measures against Canada for interfering in Saudi Arabia’s domestic affairs.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later appeared to extend an olive branch, saying he would keep pressing Saudi Arabia on civil liberties but also saying the Gulf Arab state had made some progress on human rights.

“Diplomatic talks continue ... we don’t want to have poor relations with Saudi Arabia. It is a country that has great significance in the world, that is making progress in the area of human rights,” Trudeau said.

In addition to the trade freeze, Riyadh has stopped sending patients to Canadian hospitals and suspended educational exchanges, moving Saudi scholars to other countries.