The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price has been a solid performer on Thursday.
In morning trade, the energy producer's shares are up 2.5% to $34.70.
This means the Woodside share price is now up over 50% since the start of the year.
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Why is the Woodside share price pushing higher again today?
Investors have been scrambling to buy the company's shares again on Thursday after OPEC+ announced a much-speculated production cut.
At a time when the global economy needs cheaper oil, the oil cartel decided to put profits first and cut production by 2 million barrels per day from November.
Unsurprisingly, this led to oil prices extending their positive run during overnight trade.
According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was up 1.5% to US$87.82 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was up 1.8% to US$93.50 a barrel.
This has lifted the Woodside share price, as well as the shares of peers Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG).
The response
US President Joe Biden has been calling for cuts and so was disappointed with OPEC's decision. A White House statement said:
The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. At a time when maintaining a global supply of energy is of paramount importance, this decision will have the most negative impact on lower- and middle-income countries that are already reeling from elevated energy prices.
The White House also advised that he will now look at reducing OPEC's control over energy prices.
The President is also calling on U.S. energy companies to keep bringing pump prices down by closing the historically large gap between wholesale and retail gas prices — so that American consumers are paying less at the pump. In light of today's action, the Biden Administration will also consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC's control over energy prices.
Judging by the performance of the Woodside share price today, investors don't appear to believe that OPEC's influence will diminish any time soon.
