Saudi Arabia will likely continue producing crude at near-record levels under newly appointed Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih, Bloomberg reports as the kingdom sticks to its guns when it comes to defending market share against higher-cost US shale. “This is a new era for Saudi oil policy and is fraught with uncertainty,” Amrita Sen, chief oil economist at Energy Aspects tells the Financial Times (paywall). “There will likely be more volatility for oil markets.”

Also worth a read in the Financial Times this morning if you’re a subscriber: News that discoveries of new oil reserves globally have hit a 60-year low “pointing to potential supply shortages in the next decade.” The 2.8 bn barrels of crude and related liquids discovered last year is the lowest since 1954, and most of the new reserves are offshore in deep water — finds that typically take seven years to bring into production, the paper reminds us.