ABU DHABI, April 28, 2026 — The United Arab Emirates has announced its formal withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the broader OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1, 2026, ending nearly six decades of membership dating back to 1967, when it first joined through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi before the nation’s formal establishment in 1971.
The decision, announced on Tuesday via the UAE’s state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) following what it described as a “comprehensive review of its production policy and its current and future capacity,” reflects the country’s long‑term strategic economic vision and evolving energy profile.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei, in a media interview, said the move is rooted in a policy‑driven evolution aligned with long‑term market fundamentals. He emphasized that the decision was made unilaterally as a sovereign national decision, not a political one, with no prior consultation with other OPEC members including Saudi Arabia.”We need to be unconstrained, to be more agile and flexible to make the right decisions quickly,” Al Mazrouei told reporters. Following its exit, the UAE will continue “acting responsibly, bringing additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.”The country will remain committed to global market stability and continue engaging with partners and consumers, the ministry reiterated.
The UAE, currently the world’s seventh‑largest oil producer, had long chafed under OPEC’s production constraints. The state‑owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has invested approximately $150 billion to accelerate the development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources, raising production capacity from 4.85 million barrels per day (bpd) to a target of 5 million bpd by 2027——a goal that was moved forward from 2030.However, under the OPEC+ quota framework, the UAE was largely capped at around 3.4 million bpd, meaning it was forced to leave nearly 30% of its capacity idle.After the exit, ADNOC could potentially raise production to “more than 4.5 million bpd,” analysts at HSBC estimated in a research note.
The move comes amid ongoing Iran‑related military conflict that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz——a critical shipping chokepoint for global crude exports——since late February.Al Mazrouei told CNN that the closure was a key factor in shaping the timing of the announcement, saying the decision was taken “at a point where it can have a minimum impact on the price” because “everyone is constrained, including us.”He added that the move would ultimately benefit oil‑importing countries by providing relief from potential future price pressures.
Analysts said the announcement’s immediate market impact is limited given Hormuz’s closure and existing logistical bottlenecks. Brent crude traded above $111 per barrel on the day of the announcement against a backdrop of historic supply disruption——OPEC’s production slumped 27% in March alone as the Iran war wiped out nearly 7.88 million bpd from the cartel’s total.
However, most analysts warn of longer‑term structural consequences. “The UAE withdrawal marks a significant shift for OPEC. Alongside Saudi Arabia, it is one of the few members with meaningful spare capacity——the mechanism through which the group exerts market influence,” Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy, told Reuters.”While near‑term effects may be muted given ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the longer‑term implication is a structurally weaker OPEC. Outside the group, the UAE would have both the incentive and the ability to increase production, pointing to a potentially more volatile oil market.”
OPEC was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1960 with the aim of coordinating and unifying member countries’ petroleum policies and prices to ensure stability in the international oil market. Before the UAE’s exit, OPEC member states accounted for about 36% of global oil production and controlled approximately 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves.The UAE’s departure follows that of Qatar, which left OPEC in 2019 after concluding that its position as a leading gas producer made continued membership largely irrelevant. Two other Gulf countries, Bahrain and Oman, remain outside OPEC but have historically aligned with the group’s supply management efforts.