US President Joe Biden announces a ban on US imports of Russian oil and gas, March 8, 2022, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. The announcement tightens unprecedented economic sanctions punishing Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The ban is partly a response to strong bipartisan pressure from Congress, despite the impact the announcement is likely to have on already soaring domestic gas prices.
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The US banned Russian oil. So, what now?
01:52 - Source: CNN Business
Washington CNN  — 

An intense, closely guarded diplomatic effort by a core team of Biden energy and national security officials to raise global oil production amid surging prices from Russia’s war in Ukraine has fostered a cautious sense of optimism inside the White House.

The two main targets of the effort, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have had frosty relations with the US since Biden took office. Both countries are members of OPEC, the powerful bloc of 13 countries that together control 40% of global oil production. And both were on friendlier terms with the Trump administration.

But over the past month, US officials say progress has been made and there may be evidence the diplomatic work is starting to pay off.