The appointment is intended to separate the ministry of energy from Aramco and avoid any conflicts of interestSaudi Arabia energy minister Khalid al-Falih. Picture: REUTERS
“All this shows that in Saudi Arabia there has been some dissatisfaction at the highest levels on how things have been going,” said Olivier Jakob, MD at consultant Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. “Al-Falih has not really fully delivered on oil prices. He hasn’t delivered the price that’s required by the Saudi budget. There’s speculation that prices and the IPO are linked and they need higher prices to get the valuation they want for the IPO.
Al-Rumayyan is governor of the Public Investment Fund, leading the fund’s transformation from a sleepy domestic holding company into one of the biggest investors in global technology start-ups. The fund has accumulated stakes in electric car maker Tesla and ride-sharing company Uber Technologies and has made a $45bn commitment to SoftBank Group's $100bn technology fund.
The country needs crude to trade near $80 a barrel to balance its budget, according to research from the IMF and Bloomberg Intelligence. Brent crude was trading at $58.75 a barrel at 3.50pm in London on Monday. It also needs higher oil prices if it is to achieve a valuation of $2-trillion, estimated by Crown Prince Mohammed.