UAE quits OPEC, citing desire to be “meeting the urgent needs of the market”
In a bombshell move, the United Arab Emirates announced that it will be leaving OPEC (and OPEC+) on May 1.
The Middle Eastern country will soon chart its own course on how much oil to supply to global markets, which have endured significant disruptions in light of the Iran war.
“This decision is taken at the right time in our view because it’s not going to hugely impact the market: the market is undersupplied,” said Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei, according to Bloomberg.
The UAE is the third-largest producer within the oil cartel and among the world’s 10 largest, based on April data. Despite the positive implications for supply, the United States Oil Fund LP is still up about 2.5% as of 9:52 a.m. ET.
“After leaving OPEC, the UAE will continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the country’s official news agency, which added that the decision reflects “the state’s commitment to contribute effectively to meeting the urgent needs of the market, while geopolitical fluctuations continue in the near term through the disturbances in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
The UAE’s access to global markets is less negatively impacted by the closure of this important oil shipping choke point than many other producers in the region, as the Port of Fujairah lies outside the Persian Gulf. However, energy infrastructure at this port has also come under fire during the conflict for precisely this reason.
In the last few weeks, the UAE has a) sounded out the US on a swap line b) pulled billions of dollars out of Pakistan, an ally c) left Opec, where it was one of the biggest members by quota.
— Joseph Cotterill (@jsphctrl.ft.com) April 28, 2026 at 8:34 AM
While the timing of this move may come as a surprise, fractures between the UAE and some of largest producers in OPEC (and the expanded OPEC+ alliance) have arguably been long in the making. The UAE was the strongest advocate for a more aggressive boost to output during OPEC’s postpandemic slow return of supply, arguing that its productive capacity was too low. Eventually, the country won an increase to their baseline.
The UAE’s exodus “leaves OPEC even more Saudi-centric as the main holder of spare capacity and reduces the group’s future ability to manage prices — particularly given Russia’s inability to ramp production up and down as required,” wrote Viresh Kanabar, an investment strategist at Macro Hive. “More broadly, the closure of the Strait is likely to have lasting consequences for regional players and markets, and the UAE’s exit from OPEC is one example.”
