The new king of Saudi Arabia moved quickly Friday to assure global energy markets that the country would maintain its strategy of pushing other top exporters to maintain a high level of oil production.
Sadad al-Husseini, a former executive vice president and board member of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company said in a telephone interview: “There is no near-term reason to modify the kingdom’s position,” the New York Times reported.
“The kingdom is unlikely to reverse a policy that it has just announced with the outcome still evolving,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is a leading member of OPEC, the group of 12 oil-rich nations that has resisted cutting production.
The death of King Abdullah, announced Thursday, sparked speculation that Saudi Arabia could shift direction, and prices initially rose 2 percent.
The new king said in a televised address that he would stick with “the correct policies which Saudi Arabia has followed since its establishment.”
New Saudi King Salman vowed to keep the oil-rich Muslim kingdom on a steady course and moved to cement his hold on power following the death of his half-brother King Abdullah.
In his first public statement as king, Salman, 79, called for “unity and solidarity” among Muslims and vowed to work in “the defence of the causes of our nation”.
The 90-year-old monarch of Saudi Arabia was laid to rest in the capital of Riyadh today. In accordance with religious tradition in the country, Abdullah’s body was wrapped in a tan cloth and buried in a simple grave.