After speding a few years in the middle east, this is how things go over there. Things only moves if it's senior management priority. Now that MBS has found enough cash through his corruption probe, the IPO is not his main focus anymore, and things wont go forward until he personally pushes for it.

Right now, his main focus is to make sure the Iran does not develop it's O&G infrastructure, that could challenge KSA's position. One part the the article does not explore, is "what did the US gave in exchange of the OPEP increasing their production?". Could it have something to do with the WH ending the Iran deal?

One part that is extremely true is that investing in the GCC is extremely risky, due to the way regulation can change within weeks. Most people that I know over there thinks that without a good, personal relationship to the royal family (or equivalent), having high stake investments is probably a mistake.

Also, i'm highly skeptical with the 20% marginal rate this article talks about. I remember reading that the cost of production of a barrel in KSA what about 3$.