Big Oil CEO Slams Saudi Energy Reform

Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne has warned that Saudi
Arabia’s social and economic reforms might be a bit too ambitious,
and might not go as smoothly, not to mention as quickly, as their
proponents seem to believe. Speaking at an event in London,
Pouyanne said “You don’t change into a secular regime just like
that,” reminiscing about the situation in Russia after the toppling
of its last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbatchev. Chaos, Pouyanne
said, was the first stage of the transition. The Saudi Vision 2030
program,…

Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne has warned that Saudi
Arabia’s social and economic reforms might be a bit too ambitious,
and might not go as smoothly, not to mention as quickly, as their
proponents seem to believe. Speaking at an event in London,
Pouyanne said “You don’t change into a secular regime just like
that,” reminiscing about the situation in Russia after the toppling
of its last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbatchev. Chaos, Pouyanne
said, was the first stage of the transition. The Saudi Vision 2030
program,…