Saudi Arabia is signaling it isn’t willing to pump more oil and won’t push for changes to an agreement with Russia and other producers that has kept a lid on oil production levels, AP reported.

Washington is concerned about rising gas prices and tensions with Russia over uncertainty in the Ukrainian fuel market. The Biden administration sent Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, and State Department energy envoy Amos Hochstein to Riyadh to discuss a number of issues, the foremost of which are the ongoing war in Yemen and global energy supplies.

Asked by reporters whether US officials had urged Saudi Arabia to produce more crude to bring down high oil prices, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she had no further details of the meeting.

White House spokeswoman said the two US officials had not asked the Saudis to increase oil production in their meetings in Riyadh.

On Thursday, Emily Horne, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said the officials discussed a “collaborative approach” with the Saudis to manage potential market pressures stemming from a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Two Saudi officials told the Associated Press that Saudi Arabia's energy minister had informed the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of the kingdom's commitment to the group's current roadmap for cautious monthly increases.

King Salman also said as much in a call last week with President Joe Biden. According to a Saudi readout of the call, the king highlighted the “the importance of maintaining the agreement” that is in place between OPEC, the oil cartel led by Saudi, and Russia.

The Saudi-Russian-led alliance, known as OPEC+, calls for a gradual increase in oil production as the world continues to emerge from the pandemic, but geopolitical events are rapidly evolving and causing market volatility.

Higher petrol prices pose a threat to Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. Biden has warned that gas prices could rise even higher if Russian President Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine.

Benchmark crude is trading at around $95 a barrel, its highest level in eight years. AAA says the current U.S. national average for a gallon of regular gasoline costs around $3.50 — a 40% increase from its average of $2.50 at this time last year.

During a CNN forum in October, Biden said prices were rising because “of the supply being withheld by OPEC.” He said that while there’s a lot of negotiation going on about the cost of gas, “there’s a lot of Middle Eastern folks who want to talk to me.”

His remarks were widely interpreted as a swipe at Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the kingdom’s major policy decisions and day-to-day affairs.

Saudi Arabia may produce around 12 million barrels a day, but its output is around 10 million barrels a day, in line with OPEC+ restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Biden administration has emphasised US strategic interests in Saudi Arabia, moving away from the Trump administration's personal relationship with the crown prince, which was championed by adviser Jared Kushner.

Throughout his presidency, Biden has avoided direct conversations with the crown prince, preferring instead to talk to King Salman.

The OPEC+ group has consistently resisted pressure from Biden to produce more oil, opting instead to stick to cautious monthly production increases. Higher oil prices are a boon to both Saudi and Russian economies as Moscow faces possible Western sanctions over Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal reported that at an energy forum in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman rejected calls to pump more oil and said renegotiating quotas among OPEC members risked stoking more volatility in oil markets. The Intercept first reported that Saudi Arabia had rejected a Biden plea to increase oil production.

At the energy forum in Riyadh, Hochstein, the State Department’s energy envoy, stressed “energy security cannot be taken for granted.”

“We have seen a rapid rise in price and today having a significant amount of risk, of geopolitical risk, priced into our markets,” he said at a live-streamed International Energy Forum symposium. High oil prices and high inflation are cyclical and affect each other, he added.

Speaking at the same energy forum, the head of the International Energy Agency called on OPEC+ producers to narrow what he said was a 1 million barrels a day gap between their stated targets and actual production. The IEA believes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could help stabilize prices by producing more oil.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol called on OPEC+ producers to “provide more volume to the markets” to reduce price volatility that is burdening households.