'Secret' US delegation to Saudi Arabia, paved way for release of 'strategic oil reserves'

"... On April 26, Mr. Obama and his advisers, alarmed by a report showing brent crude prices surging above $120 a barrel, concluded they should move to release oil from the strategic reserves held by the U.S. and other consuming nations.
In early May, Mr. Obama and his advisers decided to undertake a secret diplomatic effort to persuade Saudi Arabia to accept the move. Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, and Mike Froman, a deputy national security adviser, prepared a May 2 memo for the president detailing why that was necessary and asking him to sign off on outreach to Riyadh. The world's largest oil producer has traditionally objected to U.S. moves to release oil from its strategic reserves.
Mr. Obama called Saudi King Abdullah to discuss the issue, and pave the way for the arrival later that week of a delegation of senior administration officials that included Mr. Froman, Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman and deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. The team went to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, and returned to Washington on Mothers' Day, May 8, administration officials said...."