He might not have had a direct relationship with Oklahoma energy producers, but his leadership as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister was definitely felt by them. Now, Ali al-Naimi has been removed from power by his own government and replaced by former Health Minister and Saudi Aramco board chairman Khaled al-Falih.
Al-Naimi had led the Saudi oil policy since 1995, that is until Saturday when he was replaced as part of the Saudi Arabian government plans for reforms aimed at overhauling the country’s economy amid lower oil prices that eroded state revenues, according to the Associated Press.
Al-Naimi had influence at meetings of the oil cartel OPEC and his comments often times influenced global oil prices. He even led the strategy of keeping production levels high forcing prices down over the past two years, a move that had a direct impact on Oklahoma energy producers.
