- The UAE has exited OPEC/OPEC+, reducing core membership and signalling internal fractures amid a wider geopolitical energy crisis.
- The move reflects Abu Dhabi’s push for greater production flexibility.
- While it may boost future supply flexibility, the departure heightens near-term uncertainty over crude flows and pricing, especially with disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz affecting global supply.
The UAE has announced today, 28 April, that it has quit the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ oil cartel, as the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war wages on.
OPEC+ was a group of 23 oil-exporting countries, with 12 members at its core: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Venezuela. Today, that number went down to 11.
An estimated 79.3% (1,241 billion of 1,567 billion barrels) of global oil reserves are located in OPEC nations, with the Middle East alone accounting for two-thirds of this figure.
The UAE is OPEC’s third-largest oil producer, accountable for around 12% of the cartel’s total oil output.
As of today, the UAE was the fourth-most dominant flag state in terms of total vessel presence across the Gulf, and the highest of any OPEC country.
Abu Dhabi framed the move as in alignment with its long-term energy plans, to expand its role as a “reliable and responsible” global supplier. However, its departure is the culmination of the UAE’s long-standing frustrations with OPEC, and demonstrates divergence within the Gulf, particularly between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader.
For consuming nations, the shift could improve long-term supply flexibility, but heightened uncertainty in pricing and availability in the medium term, particularly as crude streams through the Strait of Hormuz are at a standstill. The Strait handles roughly a fifth of global crude and liquefied natural gas flows.
