Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud died in the early hours of today, Friday and was succeeded by his half-brother Salman on the throne of the world's biggest oil exporter.

King Abdullah, who was born in 1924, died at 1 a.m. in Riyadh, the royal court said in a statement. He became Saudi Arabia's sixth king in August 2005 and was de facto ruler for almost a decade before that, after King Fahd was incapacitated by a stroke in 1996. Prince Muqrin, 69, another half-brother, has been named Crown Prince, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said. Oil prices surged after the announcement.

The transition "will be smooth," said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global Associates, which advises clients on risk in the Middle East. When power starts moving to the next generation of the ruling family, "that's when tension could start brewing," he said by phone after the announcement.

Salman, 79, was named as crown prince in 2012 and takes over as ruler of the Arab world's biggest economy amid turbulence across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has joined the U.S. coalition against Islamic State and faces a growing threat from militant attacks within the kingdom, as well as unrest sweeping the Arab world outside its borders. Regional rival Iran and its Shiite allies are gaining influence, while plunging oil prices are curbing Saudi Arabia's capacity to invest.

President Barack Obama of America amongst other world leaders have expressed condolences to the royal family and the Saudi people, calling Abdullah a ruler who "took bold steps."
"King Abdullah's vision was dedicated to the education of his people and to greater engagement with the world," Obama said in an e-mailed statement. "The closeness and strength off the partnership between our two countries is part of King Abdullah's legacy."
Japan's government praised Abdullah as a peace keeper.
"King Abdullah had played a big role in maintaining peace and stability in the Kingdom, the Islamic world, the world, for many years," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press briefing in Tokyo. "He first visited our country in 1998 as Crown Prince and consolidated the friendship between the two nations. We will develop the relationship between the two nations on top of the foundation built by King Abdullah."
West Texas Intermediate for March delivery gained as much as $1.45 and traded at $47.20 at midday in Hong Kong. Crude prices have plunged more than 50 percent since June, and Saudi Arabia led a group of OPEC members resisting calls for production cuts to halt the decline.
Abdullah, whose funeral will be held in Riyadh later on Friday, is the third senior member of the royal family to die since 2011. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud died in October that year and his successor, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, died nine months later.

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