SAUDI ARABIA - The OPEC Decision Makers - Part 11.

Officially, the King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd Ibn Abdel Aziz Al Saud, remains in charge of everything in this country. In practice, the day-to-day running of the kingdom, including policy decisions on the petroleum sector, is in the hands of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdel Aziz Al Saud. King Fahd has delegated power to Prince Abdullah and is no longer concerned with policy making. He appears clearly satisfied with the way Prince Abdullah is running things and has made the royal family regard Abdullah as acting ruler.

King Fahd remains the prime minister and chairman of the highest decision making body for the petroleum sector, the Supreme Council of Saudi Aramco, which has rarely met since the 1990 Gulf crisis - one year after it was set up. He also occasionally receives heads of state or lower ranking visitors of importance and presides over cabinet meetings. This has been the case for the past two years.