Meanwhile, the World Petroleum Congress—a nearly century-old gathering of energy ministers and oil executives that organizers expected to draw more than 25,000 people—opened in Riyadh on Sunday. Organizers had reassured investors that the kingdom’s major conferences would go ahead as planned, but the chief executives of ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, and BP withdrew. The kingdom, which has poured money from its nearly $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund into an effort to become a global business hub, is also slated to host its flagship investment conference, the 10th annual Future Investment Initiative, on October 26-29, and in January, Saudi Arabia will welcome the AFC Asian Cup, hoping to draw hundreds of thousands of soccer fans.