Oil major Total sees challenges to Saudi reform drive

London: Saudi Arabia's push for reforms could face a backlash from within and there is no guarantee the drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will succeed, one of the biggest oil investors in the Middle East, France's Total, said on Thursday.
"I am supportive of this reformist spirit, even if it is difficult to be optimistic or pessimistic at that stage.
Major changes are not always easy to implement and can take time," Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters at an event in London.
Total is one of the most active and biggest investors in the Middle East.
It has a major refining site in Saudi Arabia, large concessions with the UAE and Qatar and this year it signed a deal to develop part of Iran's South Pars, the world's largest gas field.
"Total is perceived in most of those countries as representing France. We benefit, even if we are a commercial company, from this position of France. Total has a nationality and that nationality is a strength in the oil and gas business."