Naimi’s removal sees the departure of one of the oil industry’s most influential figures, bringing to an end an illustrious career spanning seven decades.
Naimi, who served as oil minister for nearly 21 years, witnessed the transformation of Saudi Arabia from an impoverished tribal state to one of the richest countries in the world thanks to its oil wealth.
His own meteoric rise from herding sheep as a child to becoming the most influential man on the global energy scene is a reflection of that change.
