What did the new Saudi oil minister say in his first statement?

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi national oil giant Saudi Aramco “as soon as possible,” Saudi Arabia's new energy minister said on Monday.

The minister made the remarks, his first after his appointment earlier this week to replace Khalid al-Falih, at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

Aramco is set to sell a 5% stake by 2020-2021, in what may be the world's largest IPO.

The IPO is a cornerstone of a Saudi plan to achieve economic transformation to attract foreign investment and diversify away from oil revenues.

The kingdom is working to raise oil prices ahead of Aramco's initial public offering, through which Saudi Arabia aims to raise $ 100 billion, based on the company's value of $ 2 trillion, a figure investors question in light of falling oil prices.

No change in oil policy
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's new energy minister, in his first statement, also called on all OPEC producers to stick to production targets under the Organization-led supply reduction agreement.

He told reporters that the kingdom, the world's largest crude exporter, could not work alone without consultation with other OPEC members and that the alliance between OPEC and independent producers, known as OPEC Plus, had been going on for a long time.

Asked if there was a need to increase oil production cuts to support the market, he replied that it would be a mistake on my part to pre-empt other OPEC members.

The Saudi energy minister considered separation between the ministry and Aramco a necessity, noting that his country is working with other producers to balance the market, and that the agreement to reduce supply led by OPEC will remain the will of all.

He pointed out that there will be no radical change in Saudi oil policy, which is based on strategic considerations, including reserves and energy consumption.

Prince Abdul Aziz said he did not believe global energy demand was slowing, and that prospects for the global economy were expected to improve once the US-China trade dispute was resolved.

Uranium enrichment
The new minister announced that the kingdom wants to produce and enrich uranium in the future for its planned program to produce electricity from nuclear energy, which will start with two reactors. "We are proceeding cautiously ... We are testing two nuclear reactors," he said.

Oil futures rose in early trading on Monday on remarks supporting the continuation of the agreement to cut oil production by OPEC and independent producers.

By 08:12 GMT, Brent crude for November delivery was up 0.54%, or 33 cents, at $ 61.86 a barrel.

Crude prices are currently at $ 60 a barrel after falling to the $ 50 level a few months ago, although they had reached $ 70 a year ago.

Previous production cuts helped boost prices, but the latest deal earlier this year did not produce the desired results, as prices continued to decline despite agreeing to extend production cuts for an additional nine months starting in June.

OPEC members and independent producers led by Russia began in early 2019 to implement an agreement to reduce crude production by 1.2 million barrels per day, which expires in March 2020.