Saudi Aramco Chief Named Oil Minister as Energy Policy Firms

Saudi Arabia replaced its veteran oil minister with a close ally of the king’s increasingly influential son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the world’s largest crude exporter embarks on an economic overhaul designed to make it less reliant on energy.

After more than two decades in the post, Ali Al-Naimi, who’s been the central player in scores of OPEC meetings and steered global crude markets through several boom-and-bust cycles, will be succeeded by Khalid Al-Falih, currently chairman of state oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the official press agency reported on Saturday. The change was part of a wider revamping of the government that also saw the electricity ministry discontinued and its activities folded into Al-Falih’s portfolio.