Taking the U.S.-Saudi partnership to the next level

Saudi Arabia is still planning to sell part of its giant oil company on the stock market next year despite changes to the kingdom’s economic revival plan.

In a statement Saturday, the Saudi government said the initial public offering of shares in Saudi Aramco — which is likely to be the world’s biggest — was on track.

“The IPO process is well underway and Saudi Aramco remains focused on ensuring that all IPO-related requirements are completed on time and to the very highest standards,” the Saudi information ministry said.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said earlier this year that the IPO was scheduled for 2018.

The partial sale of Aramco is part of Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to overhaul the Saudi economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

But as first reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, Saudi Arabia is redrafting parts of the economic makeover just over one year after it was first unveiled.

Saudi Arabia was forced to rethink its economic strategy after oil prices dropped to $26 a barrel, blasting a huge hole in the country’s budget.

Now it is revising the National Transformation Plan (NTP), a pillar of the broader strategy that sets specific…