Saudi Oil Minister: Allah Sets the Price of Oil

Although oil prices continue to slump, one person in Saudi Arabia is confident about what direction the oil market might take.

Influential Saudi Oil Minister, Ali Al-Naimi, told CNBC Tuesday that “no one can set the price of oil – it’s up to Allah.” The remark comes amid widespread speculation over how long Saudi Arabia will maintain its decision not to cut production – a move that could support prices.

Al-Naimi said he is “not worried” about what might happen if Iran enters the oil market once sanctions are lifted as a result of an international nuclear agreement.

Quite simply, the oil market has tanked, with prices dropping from a high of $114 a barrel in June of 2014 to six year lows in January.

“The decline in oil prices over the past year has been exacerbated by the Organization of the Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)—the group of 12 oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia—which last year opted to keep production at 30 million barrels a day in order to retain market share and, it is speculated, put rival U.S. producers out of business.”