Saudi oil diversification hits turbulence
Vision 2030 spearhead PIF damaged by high profile investment setbacks at key MbS ally Softbank
It has not been the best year for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)— with high profile investments it has made through a fund in companies such as office space leasing firm WeWork and taxi alternative Uber coming unstuck. The value destruction has prompted questions about the performance and direction of PIF, chaired by the country’s de-facto leader Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS). PIF has been given a key role in modernising the kingdom by investing both domestically and overseas. It is viewed as an engine to fire up the Saudi private sector and significantly increase non-oil income. But its commitment to Japan’s Softbank Vision Fund— where $45bn of the $100bn available for
Also in this section
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
16 February 2026
As the third wave of global LNG arrives, Wood Mackenzie’s director for Europe gas and LNG, Tom Marzec-Manser, discusses with Petroleum Economist the outlook for Europe’s gas market in 2026
