A man walks past the headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman brought some humor to his debut as the kingdom's new oil minister Monday, joking that the industry outlook could drive him to take Prozac if he took it seriously. 

Speaking at an international energy forum in Abu Dhabi where he was the star of the show just a day after being appointed by his father King Salman, the new minister deflected concerns over the health of the energy sector.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) last week lowered its growth forecast for oil demand for 2019 and 2020, blaming the US-China trade dispute.

"If I (am) to be concerned with IEA projections, I'll probably be on Prozac all the time," Prince Abdulaziz said with a laugh, referring to the well-known antidepressant.

Prince Abdulaziz, half-brother to de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is the first member of the royal family ever put in charge of the kingdom's all-important energy ministry.

A veteran of the industry, the prince - whose country is the de facto leader of the OPEC energy cartel - also made light of gloomy depictions of the global outlook.

"Do we have a recession today? No. They're projecting a recession subject to a possible trade war. Where is it?" he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

AFP