Prince Abdel Aziz takes the Saudi energy helm

A new ministerial appointment may indicate growing Saudi impatience with its Opec+ allies

New Saudi energy minister Prince Abdel Aziz bin Salman has long been regarded as a potentially ideal candidate for the post. But the notion was always dismissed on the assumption that the tradition of a commoner technocrat heading the ministry would be maintained. Now this tradition, like others since Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) rose to power under his father's auspices, has been broken. The newly appointed minister, a half-brother of MbS and nearly twice his age, joined what was then the petroleum ministry as an advisor in the late 1980s, rising to take several junior ministerial positions. Prince Abdel Aziz had various areas of responsibility—at one point during Ali Naimi's tenure he co-ordi