Fast-track to Saudi Arabia's throne?
Recent top appointments have increased speculation about the succession, but the overall outlook for the kingdom appears stable
A group of civil servants at the Bourj al-Hamam restaurant in Riyadh, watching the waiter fill their glasses with Saudi "champagne"—a non-alcoholic fruity concoction—reflected on the enormous changes in the kingdom since King Salman came to the throne in January 2015. "For years very little happened here," one told me. "Now the developments seem unreal, they're so fast, it's like we're in a dream." Associated with almost all the recent changes is the king's youngest son, deputy crown prince Muhammed bin Salman, who, still in his early 30s, also holds the defence portfolio and is the country's oil, economics and reform supremo. It has long been suggested by many people inside and outside Saud
Also in this section
22 May 2024
Five years ago, Uzbekistan turned to a private company called Saneg to reverse the fortunes of its oil industry. Results so far are encouraging, and according to CEO Tulkin Yusupov, further progress is on the way
14 May 2024
But there is still plenty of appetite for the country’s LNG in the Asia-Pacific region
14 May 2024
The former CEO of Pioneer, Scott Sheffield, has opened a can of worms through his association with OPEC+ and its market management strategy
13 May 2024
OPEC+ has huge amounts of spare capacity amid a tightening market, but nothing can be taken for granted given unclear economic trajectories and geopolitical unrest