Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing titled “U.S. Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2025 President’s Budget Request” in the Dirksen Building on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
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U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to discuss “climate cooperation” and other issues, two Biden administration officials told Reuters on Friday.
An official said the visit will last from Tuesday to Thursday, with Granholm first visiting the United Arab Emirates. This will be her first visit to the region as secretary.
“This visit is a continuation of the United States’ longstanding engagement with the region,” officials said.
“Specifically, for the Department of Energy, it will advance the work both countries are doing on climate cooperation and diversifying the energy economy.”
Sources said Granholm will attend a meeting of the Net Zero Producers Forum, a group of countries that account for 40% of global oil and gas production, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The organization was established in 2021 and is committed to researching emission reduction methods such as reducing methane emissions and deploying clean energy.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both members of OPEC, which is discussing whether to extend production cuts.
One source said the net-zero meeting was planned in advance and Granholm did not plan to discuss oil policy with peers during the trip.
Sources told Reuters this month that the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are close to a deal on U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear aid, although a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of the Middle East’s “grand bargain” remains elusive.
Those negotiations were led by U.S. officials, including White House officials and the State Department, but not Granholm.
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