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Former Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih (right) and his successor Prince Abdel Aziz ben Salman on 1 July 2019 at a meeting of OPEC in Vienna JOE KLAMAR / AFP

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has appointed one of his sons as Minister of Energy to replace Khalid al-Falih. A major reshuffle within this heavyweight OPEC affected by low oil prices.

The appointment of Prince Abdel Aziz ben Salman, half-brother of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, comes as the kingdom prepares the IPO of the public oil giant Aramco by 2020-2021 hoping for more market conditions. favorable.

Khalid al-Falih's dismissal comes days after his replacement as chairman of Aramco by Yassir al-Rumayyan, the head of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund overseeing an ambitious plan to diversify the kingdom's economy, heavily dependent on the black gold.

In addition to his departure from Aramco, Khalid al-Falih had also lost his skills in the government by losing one of the portfolios attached to his department, that of Industry and Mineral Resources.

Man of confidence

His successor, Prince Abdel Aziz ben Salmane, "has been working at the Oil Ministry for several decades, " said Ali Shihabi, founder of the former pro-Saudi Arabia Foundation think-tank. He has participated in almost every OPEC meeting since then, and he brings with him a great institutional experience , "he added.

His appointment further concentrates power in the hands of King Salman's family. His other son, Prince Mohammed, controls the main levers of power and is the heir to the throne. And his youngest son, Prince Khaled ben Salmane, is Deputy Minister of Defense.

Analysts had seen in Aramco's Khalid al-Falih dismissal a sign of dissatisfaction within Saudi power over current crude oil prices, deemed too low to allow Aramco's IPO to enter the stock market. optimal conditions.

This is an important reshuffle as the crown prince wants to ensure better economic results, particularly in the oil sector, in view of the opening of the capital of the national company Aramco. They want to open 5% of this capital in the best possible conditions. Today, the economic context does not allow them to do it. So they want a man of confidence at the helm of energy.

Guillaume Fourmont

editor-in-chief of the Middle East and Carto magazines

09/09/2019 - by Heike Schmidt Play

(with AFP)