Saudi Arabia's crown prince embarked on an Asian tour to strengthen the Persian Gulf country's ties to its largest energy market and signal a growing independence from Washington amid fierce conflict over oil supplies, AFP reported.

Mohammed bin Salman left Monday for the G20 summit in Bali. The visit includes "a number of Asian countries," though officials have yet to confirm details of the itinerary.

A likely stop is South Korea, where the crown prince will meet with business leaders. He is then expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which begins Friday in Bangkok.

The trip comes amid a feud between Riyadh and Washington over October's decision by the OPEC+ oil cartel to cut production by two million barrels a day.

Amid rising inflation and high energy prices, the White House worked hard to prevent oil production cuts. The U.S. criticized the OPEC+ cuts, calling the move "support for Russia" and warning of unspecified "consequences."

Although both Biden and Prince Mohammed are in Bali to attend the G20 summit, the White House says the president has no plans to meet with the prince.

The standoff has not helped curb speculation about the kingdom's departure from its longtime security and energy partner.

Prince Mohammed's latest trip makes this shift even more plausible, said Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University of Birmingham. "This is a trip to further instill coordination with energy markets in Asia, but also to show to the wider Western world, and essentially to the United States, that Saudi Arabia is not lacking in options in terms of partnerships," he said.

Prince Mohammed's meetings with Asian leaders are likely to touch on a number of initiatives to promote further exports to the region, including possible refinery and storage projects, said Kaho Yu, an Asia energy specialist at risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft. "It is not just about buying the oil from Saudi Arabia. It is more about trying to expand cooperation along the supply chain," he said.