Sunday 8 May 2016

Three key challenges for successors of the Ali Al Naimi oil era | The National

Three key challenges for successors of the Ali Al Naimi oil era | The National:

"In Saturday’s reshuffle, Khaled Al Falih becomes only the fifth ever Saudi oil minister, replacing the doyen of oil markets, Ali Al Naimi. The change of faces should not bring a shift of policy, but does continue a turnover of Middle East energy leaders. The next generation has to master three key challenges: managing through an age of austerity; internationalising the national oil companies; and opening up the industry.

Mr Al Naimi’s removal is no surprise, even if accelerated by the collapse of Opec’s talks in Doha amid changes in the Saudi stance on oil output. Aged 80, and minister for 21 years, he has long been known to be ready for retirement. The 55-year-old Mr Al Falih, chairman and previously chief executive of Saudi Aramco, now heads a renamed Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources.

Over the past few years, Abdullah Al Attiyah, the architect of Qatar’s gas industry, stepped down in 2011, Suhail Al Mazrouei came from Mubadala to be the UAE’s energy minister in March 2013, and Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of Masdar, and chief executive of energy at Mubadala, was appointed to head Adnoc in February. Anas Al Saleh, Kuwait’s 43-year-old minister of finance, became acting oil minister in November, though job security is a little less than for Saudi oil ministers (there have been 10 since 2004)."



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