Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud appointed his son, Prince Abulaziz bin Salman, as the nation’s new energy minister, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency.
King Salman issued a royal order which saw veteran Khalid Al-Faleh “relieved of his position,” replaced by Prince Abdulaziz. Prince Abdulaziz has served on the oil ministry since the 1980s in a number of positions.Â
The deputy minister of energy, Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Abdulkarim, was also removed from his post, with Osama bin Abdulaziz Al-Zamil taking the position.
This is part of a wider government shake-up, as the kindgom prepares to list around 5% of its national oil company, Saudi Aramco.Â
This follows the announcement of Al-Falih’s removal as the chairman of Saudi Aramco, replaced by the governor of the Public Investment Fund, Yasir al-Rumayyan. The PIF is the kindgom’s primary investment vehicle for its ambitious plans to diversify its economy away from oil.
