Oil climbs after Saudi Arabia detains princes and dozens of former officials

Oil prices are higher on Monday after Saudi Arabia detained dozens of high profile figures over the weekend.
Analysts don't expect major short-term changes to oil following the recent developments, given that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was behind the purge, has backed the kingdom's oil policy.

Oil prices are higher on Monday after Saudi Arabia detained dozens of high-profile figures, including 11 princes, former ministers, and billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, in a new

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was up by 0.7% at $62.50 per barrel at 8:28 a.m. ET.

Given that the kingdom is one of the key players in the global energy market, some have probably wondered if the shake-up has any implications for Saudi oil. Most analysts, however, aren't expecting any major shifts in the near future given that Mohammed bin Salman has been behind the kingdom's oil policy.

"Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Saturday night purge represents a stunning political development in Saudi Arabia and a shot across the bow at the old establishment," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.

"MBS’ supporters maintain that the arrest of princes was entirely about eradicating corruption, but it seemingly serves a broader consolidation plan," she continued. "We expect no immediate changes in oil policy. MBS seems strongly committed to anchoring the OPEC agreement deep into 2018 and moving ahead with the Aramco sale."

Analysts at BMI Research also said in a note to clients that the detainments over the weekend likely won't lead to major immediate changes: "Given that MBS has been the architect of the kingdom's current oil policy, we believe that t

As for what this might mean for OPEC policy, they continued:

agreed to cut production financial stresses

Against this backdrop, Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing forward with his Vision 2030 plan, which aims to curtail the kingdom's "addiction" to oil via various measures including the public listing of a part of the kingdom's crown jewel, Saudi Aramco. Herecently told Bloomberg

Looking forward, Croft argued that the bigger question about the crown prince's oil policy is the medium-term agenda, arguing that "there w

Specifically, she noted that NEOM megacity projecthe Saudi Finance Minister said Vision 2030 was a response to the recent volatile oil price environment.

"Thus, there may be a question mark over the role that conventional fossil fuels will play in the MBS modernization plan as he is clearly focused on all things disruptive," she said.