Saudi Energy Minister Says OPEC+ Has Done a Lot to Stabilize Global Energy Markets

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. (SPA)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. (SPA)
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Saudi Energy Minister Says OPEC+ Has Done a Lot to Stabilize Global Energy Markets

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. (SPA)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. (SPA)

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, referred to as OPEC+, have "done a lot" to stabilize global energy markets.

Speaking about energy security at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the minister added: "We believe we as OPEC Plus have done a lot in bringing about stability."

The minister made it clear that it is the prerogative of the US government whether to release supply from the strategic petroleum reserves.

Last November, the US administration released 50 million barrels of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help cool oil prices in cooperation with other countries such as China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Britain.

"This is a matter for the American government," the Saudi minister told reporters in Dubai in response to a question about whether the United States could pump more oil from its reserves, given the price hike.

Reuters reported that China would release crude oil from its national strategic stockpiles around the Lunar New Year holidays that start on February 1 as part of a plan coordinated by the US with other major consumers to reduce global prices.

Oil prices rose on Monday, with Brent crude futures at their highest in more than three years, as investors bet supply will remain tight amid restrained output by major producers with global demand unperturbed by the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Brent crude futures gained 42 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $86.48 a barrel. The contract touched its highest since October 2018, $86.71 earlier in the session.

US West, Texas Intermediate crude, was up 62 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $84.44 a barrel, after hitting $84.78, the highest since November 10, 2021, earlier in the session.

The gains followed a rally last week when Brent rose 5.4 percent, and WTI climbed 6.3 percent.

Traders said that frantic oil buying, driven by supply outages and signs the Omicron variant won't be as disruptive as feared for fuel demand, has pushed some crude grades to multi-year highs, suggesting the rally in Brent futures could be sustained a while longer.

OPEC+ are gradually relaxing output cuts implemented when demand collapsed in 2020.

However, many small producers cannot increase supplies, and others are concerned about pumping too much oil in case of renewed COVID-19 setbacks.

On Friday, US officials voiced fears that Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine if diplomacy failed. Russia, which is massing about 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, released pictures of its forces' movement.

Two US officials and two energy sources told Reuters on Friday that the US government held talks with several international energy companies about contingency plans to supply natural gas to Europe if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupted Russian supplies.

US crude oil stockpiles fell more than expected to their lowest levels since October 2018, but gasoline inventories surged with weak demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration data.



Air France-KLM to Take Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airline SAS

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on July 04, 2025 shows a Scandinavian airline SAS plane flying over Heathrow airport on the outskirts of London on January 15, 2024 (top) and an Air France-KLM plane taking off from Tegel 'Otto Lilienthal' Airport in Berlin on November 8, 2020. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS and Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on July 04, 2025 shows a Scandinavian airline SAS plane flying over Heathrow airport on the outskirts of London on January 15, 2024 (top) and an Air France-KLM plane taking off from Tegel 'Otto Lilienthal' Airport in Berlin on November 8, 2020. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS and Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
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Air France-KLM to Take Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airline SAS

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on July 04, 2025 shows a Scandinavian airline SAS plane flying over Heathrow airport on the outskirts of London on January 15, 2024 (top) and an Air France-KLM plane taking off from Tegel 'Otto Lilienthal' Airport in Berlin on November 8, 2020. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS and Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on July 04, 2025 shows a Scandinavian airline SAS plane flying over Heathrow airport on the outskirts of London on January 15, 2024 (top) and an Air France-KLM plane taking off from Tegel 'Otto Lilienthal' Airport in Berlin on November 8, 2020. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS and Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Air France-KLM plans to increase its stake in Scandinavian airline SAS to 60.5%, the latest step towards consolidating Europe's fragmented airline sector as carriers seek to strengthen their position against rivals.

The Franco-Dutch airline group said on Friday it intended to increase its stake from 19.9% currently by acquiring the stakes held by top shareholders Castlelake and Lind Invest.

The purchase, subject to regulatory clearances, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, Reuters quoted Air France-KLM as saying.

The value of the investment would be determined at closing, based on SAS's latest financial performance, including core earnings (EBITDA) and net debt, the company said. It declined to give details on those metrics.

Air France-KLM expects to generate "three-digit million" euros in synergies from raising its SAS stake, Air France-KLM finance chief Steven Zaat told analysts on a call.

Zaat said the deal would be funded from cash or a "plain vanilla bond" and would not impact the drive to reduce the group's hybrid debt. "We have ample room for it," he said.

Air France-KLM shares were flat in early trading.

JPMorgan analysts said there were reasons to be positive about the deal.

"SAS offers deeper access to a GDP-rich region in Scandinavia, there will now be an opportunity to unlock cost synergies as SAS becomes a subsidiary of the group," they said in a note, adding that "industry consolidation should also be viewed positively for the whole sector, even if not game-changing in terms of size."

INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION

SAS welcomed Air France-KLM's announcement.

"European consolidation had to happen further, and we're very happy to be part of that," SAS CEO Anko van der Werff told Danish broadcaster TV2.

"In the current setup where Air France-KLM is a 19.9% shareholder, they're still a competitor," he said. "With the new stake, going above 50%, we can really tap into all of those synergies and offer those benefits to customers."

SAS said it would continue to invest in its fleet and network.

In 2023, Air France-KLM said it would invest about $144.5 million for its initial SAS stake, boosting its presence in Sweden, Denmark and Norway with the option to become a controlling shareholder after a minimum of two years, subject to conditions.

SAS exited from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August last year.

The two carriers have already had a commercial cooperation since summer 2024. Control of SAS would allow Air France-KLM to expand in the Scandinavian market and create additional value for shareholders, Air France-KLM said in a statement.

"Following their successful restructuring, SAS has delivered impressive performance, and we are confident that the airline's potential will continue to grow through deeper integration within the Air France-KLM Group," said Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith.

The deal comes as executives seek more consolidation in Europe's fragmented airline industry, which they say is needed to compete with US and Middle Eastern rivals.

Earlier this year, Germany's Lufthansa bought a 41% stake in Italy's ITA Airways and a stake in Air Baltic. The Portuguese government is looking to privatize its national carrier TAP.

Lufthansa and Air France are also in talks about buying a stake in Spain's Air Europa.
SAS has 138 aircraft in service and carried more than 25 million passengers last year, generating revenues of 4.1 billion euros ($4.8 billion).

Air France-KLM group would have a majority of seats on the board of directors, while the Danish state will keep its 26.4% stake in SAS and its seats on the board.