Saudi Arabia sacks oil minister

Saudi King Salman replaced his long-serving oil minister on Saturday as part of a major government overhaul which comes as the kingdom grapples with a slump in energy revenues.

The revamp follows last month's announcement of an ambitious plan to transform Saudi Arabia's economy to reduce its dependence on oil.

Ali al-Naimi, who held the post of oil minister for more than two decades, was one of the most powerful figures within the OPEC oil cartel.

Naimi has been replaced by Khaled al-Falih, the longtime chief of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, who was previously health minister.

Falih takes on the enlarged portfolio of energy, industry and mineral resources, according to a royal decree announced Saturday by state media.

The government restructuring comes after Saudi Arabia last week unveiled a long-term reform programme dubbed "Vision 2030" to rehaul its economy that has been long-dependent on oil.