to diversify the Saudi economy away from its dependence on oil revenue.

The crown prince has struggled to attract foreign investors, which analysts say is key to diversifying the economy and creating millions of jobs for young Saudis entering the workforce.

Foreign investors were spooked by Prince Mohammed's purported anti-corruption crackdown in late 2017, where he oversaw the murky shakedown of senior royals and top Saudi businessmen detained in the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh. Many have also shied away after the gruesome killing of Saudi critic and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in Turkey last year by Saudi agents.

Still, there's great buzz around the crown prince's plan to list as much as 5% of Aramco by 2020 or 2021, which would make it the world's biggest IPOever. Saudi Arabia has not said where an international listing would happen.

To prepare for an initial public offering, Aramco replaced al-Falih as board chairman last week with finance-minded Yasir al-Rumayyan, distancing the company from the energy ministry. Al-Rumayyan is a close adviser to the crown prince and heads the Public Investment Fund, the country's sovereign wealth fund.

Al-Falih, who'd taken over the energy portfolio from longtime oil minister Ali al-Naimi, was tasked with playing a key role in Prince Mohammed's economic overhaul of the country. He expressed concern in January at an energy forum in Abu Dhabi over the "range of volatility" in oil prices seen over the past two to three years.

To keep oil prices from sliding even further, al-Falih led Saudi Arabia's curb on production in OPEC