DUBAI : Saudi Arabia has removed Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih from his position as Chairman of Saudi Aramco as the government prepares to sell shares in the state-owned oil company.
Al-Falih will be replaced by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, a Saudi source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The appointment of Al-Rumayyan, already an Aramco board member, is intended to separate the Ministry of Energy from Aramco and avoid any conflicts of interest as the company prepares for the upcoming IPO, the source said.
“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, managing director at consultant Petromatrix GmbH in Zug, Switzerland.
