ABU DHABI — Major changes in Saudi oil policy are unlikely as a new energy minister moves in to take up the decision-making reins for the world’s largest exporter of oil.
Saudi Arabia replaced its former energy minister and the face of OPEC’s production cutting program, Khalid al Falih, with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a son of the king, state media announced Sunday.
Abdulaziz, a seasoned veteran of the kingdom’s delegation to OPEC with years of experience in the industry, is the first member of the ruling Al Saud family to hold a position in the massive energy ministry. But country experts say they expect to see a consistent approach to oil policy, which aims to work with the organization’s 14 members and its non-OPEC allies to keep markets balanced amid a particularly dim outlook for crude prices.
