President Joe Biden sounded deeply frustrated. Inflation was heading toward a 30-year high and Americans, rich and poor, could see the price of gasoline going up almost daily. Politically, oil was toxic for the White House.
"The idea that Russia and Saudi Arabia and other major producers are not going to pump more oil so people can have gasoline to get to and from work, for example, is not right," Biden said in late October.
First in private and later more publicly, American envoys had spent weeks trying to convince the Saudis to pump more crude -- and quickly, according to officials on both sides. The diplomatic pressure was ultimately directed at a 36-year-old man who has the capacity to change the price of oil -- and the fortune of politicians in consuming nations -- on a whim: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
But the kingdom’s day-to-day ruler didn't budge despite the overtures from American diplomats. Prince Mohammed was more worried about oil’s supply and demand fundamentals than the political needs of Washington. But if Biden wanted cheaper gasoline, the prince had his own wish list, including something he hasn’t yet got from the current White House -- access.
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