Saudi Aramco’s biggest asset could also be a liability. Its vast oil reserves — the state-owned Aramco producer can sustain current production levels for the next 50 years — make it more exposed than any other company to a rising tide of environmental activism and shift away from fossil fuels.

Last year, at age 31, Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

The Saudi king has bucked tradition by naming his successor without consulting the extended royal family. Bernard Haykel looks at the heir apparent who has a plan for when the oil runs out.

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.

Saudi Arabia’s new king promised to continue the policies of his predecessors after the death of King Abdullah at the age of 90.