The failure to sell 5% of Saudi Aramco's shares so far seems to be behind the stripping of former energy minister Khaled al-Falih of his full control of the sector and its dependents.
Reuters quoted sources familiar with Saudi thinking that Khaled al-Falih, the exiled minister, was opposed to Aramco's initial public offering for fear he would step down as chairman.
"Al-Falih was opposed to the IPO," the sources said. "He knew everything about Aramco, but he did not want to lose power and killed many investment projects."
Al-Falih lost not only the Ministry of Energy, but also Aramco's chairmanship and board membership, to get out of the energy sector empty-handed.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz appointed his son Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman as energy minister on Sunday to replace al-Falih and become the first member of the royal family to become energy minister in the world's biggest oil exporter.
Al-Falih was also relieved last week of the chairmanship of Aramco and Yasser Al-Rumayyan, head of the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, was named new chairman.
Prior to the dismissal, Falih oversaw more than half of the Saudi economy through its massive ministry, set up in 2016 to help coordinate new reforms.
Some blamed Falih for lack of foreign investment in industry and mining, with relatively little progress being made, sources close to the matter told Reuters.
Aramco's launch is one of the main pillars of Saudi Arabia's economic transformation efforts to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy rather than rely on oil.
Floundering
But the Wall Street Journal argued that al-Falih's removal from the Energy Department reflected the floundering of Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic plan. The newspaper described this as a sudden shift as the initial public offering of Aramco accelerated.
The newspaper itself said after the decision to separate the portfolio of industry from energy a week ago that the move came on the back of his failure to make progress on the Kingdom's crucial reform plans, according to Saudi officials.
Oil Price, a US oil specialist, said after the resignation of Al-Falih from the presidency of Aramco that these amendments indicate the existence of major problems.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his supporters behind Aramco's initial public offering and diversification of the Saudi economy appear to be stepping up their moves to assert full control of the kingdom.
"Anyone who opposes or undermines the goals set by the crown prince, or even threatens the success of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 or Aramco's initial public offering, will be excluded or entirely displaced," the website said.
Saudi Arabia needs a new person to support the success of Aramco's initial public offering, but al-Falih's removal from the company's presidency poses a threat to its future.
Aramco is preparing to sell a 5% stake by 2020-2021, in an IPO that may be the largest of its kind in the world. The company is expected to appoint its advisers in the offering in the coming days.
Saudi Aramco is likely to give City, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Samba Financial Group roles in its planned initial public offering, Reuters quoted an informed source as saying.
The four banks are likely to take on these roles alongside Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co., who were chosen to take a leading role in the deal before the operation was halted last year, the source said.