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The prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Most of Saudi adult life was waiting for the energy minister. But he took on the role of becoming the first king and six days later, the kingdom’s oil production was halved as a result of drone and missile attacks that sparked the world’s largest crude processing facility.
Attack Abqaiq in September 2019, Accused by Riyadh and Washington in Iran, was the first trial of Prince Abdulaziz, son of King Salman and half-brother of the crown prince of the kingdom Mohammed bin Salman of the kingdom.
When oil prices rose by 20%, the prince was flown by private jet from London to the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, and soon announced that the kingdom could maintain its oil supply while repairing the damage.
Oil traders saw prices reversing. But although Prince Abdulaziz may have been lucky in this case, the tests have hardly stopped since.
In less than two years he has had to navigate Saudi Aramco’s controversial public list by the end of 2019; The beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic; the ensuing short-lived war with Russia; and then calls on President Donald Trump to reverse the trajectory of the kingdom and reduce the record for world oil production.
His supporters say the 61-year-old prince, who has been married for 34 years and has three children in his thirties, has proven himself to be on par with the task. “If it weren’t for his experience one of these events would have overwhelmed an energy minister,” says Bassam Fattouh of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, where Prince Abdulaziz is in charge.
For his critics, Prince Abdulaziz has his flaws, including playing two of the biggest tests hidden in the background.
Rising oil prices – Brent crude rose $ 70 kupela this week – not everyone is welcome when fears of inflation resurface on the horizon. And this week the International Energy Agency’s “roadmap” has been removed from office due to zero net future La La Land it has countered the changing sentiment in an industry that is taking climate change seriously.
Diplomatic speech slips smoothly to reveal the utterly lofty and bitter answers to the doubts or criticisms that often slip into the royal status of those moments. “You never know what kind of Abdulaziz you’re going to receive,” says a veteran Opec representative.
Light and glasses with an academic air, Prince Abdulaziz introduces himself as a low but wise negotiator who wants to build consensus. The years of working for technocrats like former ministers Ali Al Naimi and Khalid Al Falih, according to those close to him, are a sign of his character despite being a prince who gives him tremendous privilege.
However, he likes it terribly at press conferences and gets the de facto head of Opec and Saud to get a direct line to go home.
He warned them last year that traders who dared to bet on Saudi Arabia’s oil policy would be “like hell”. He said this week he wanted to bring “speculators” to the oil market “on his knees”.
He has encouraged other Opec members to increase compliance with supply agreements. He also pays tribute to those who do, as he directs a meeting of the OPEC in Iraq, in a thunderous round of applause that has often been delayed after he is close to hitting his targets.
“He likes to be unpredictable – it’s partly calculated to be unpredictable,” says Christyan Mal, head of oil research at JPMorgan.
Things get more difficult when asked to respond to the political actions taken by the kingdom, often by Prince Mohammed, who is also his effective leader.
At last year’s summit in Davos, a UK TV group sought a reaction by saying that Prince Mohammed Jeff Jeffos, the founder of Amazon, was involved in piracy on his Amazon smartphone. Walking down a corridor, Prince Abdulaziz called the reporter a “mocker” and told the reporter “stupid” before briefly throwing the microphone.
He has made few comments about the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, although the US concluded that he had accepted Prince Mohammed, although those close to Prince Abdulaziz do not believe that the relationship between them is close.
His allies would prefer to reform the domestic electricity sector and focus on professionalizing the relationship between Saudi Aramco and the energy ministry.
But while western oil companies are delaying investment in fossil fuels as a result of climate change pressure, the kingdom is barely covering its stakes.
Prince Mohammed wants to rid the Saudi economy of oil dependence, but Prince Abdulaziz sees the possibility of increasing production capacity, believing that the world will always need a cheap source of abundant fuel.
Analyst Amrita Sen Energy Aspects says Prince Abdulaziz is “thinking deeply” about the world’s challenges. “He cares a lot about the energy sector. It reflects on many of these issues. ”
But there is unlikely to be any push to halt new oil projects, as proposed by the IEA net zero roadmap.
“Anyone put that scenario on [together]”Prince Abdulaziz said this week,” there is no contact with reality. “
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