Opec bids farewell to Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's architect of cheap oil

Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi, the architect of the 2014 switch in Opec policy that has since roiled the energy market, companies, and entire economies, is leaving his post.

An 80-year-old who rose from modest Bedouin roots, al-Naimi headed the ministry for almost 21 years, steering the world’s largest crude exporter through wild price swings, regional wars, technological progress, and the rise of climate change as a key policy concern.

“During my seven decades in the industry, I’ve seen oil at under $2 a barrel and $147, and much volatility in between,” al-Naimi told a gathering of the who’s who of the American oil industry in February in Houston.