UAE Quits OPEC and OPEC+ Effective May 1, Ending Nearly Six Decades of Membership
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday, April 28, that it will withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1, ending a membership that began when the country joined the cartel in 1967 nearly six decades ago. State media described the move as a strategic decision by one of the world’s top oil producers.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei announced the exit on X. “The UAE’s decision to exit Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reflects a policy-driven evolution aligned with long-term market fundamentals. We thank OPEC and its member countries for decades of constructive cooperation. We remain committed to energy security by providing reliable, responsible and lower-carbon supply, while supporting stable global markets,” he said.
The official Emirates News Agency carried a statement citing “national interest” and a commitment to meeting “the market’s pressing needs” as the basis for the decision. “This decision follows a comprehensive review of the UAE’s production policy and its current and future capacity,” the statement read.
The official WAM news agency said the decision “reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile.”
The UAE described itself as a “trusted producer of some of the world’s most cost-competitive and lower-carbon barrels” and said it would bring additional production to market gradually and in line with demand conditions. The statement also acknowledged the UAE’s “even greater sacrifices” made for the collective benefit during its time in the OPEC and OPEC+ alliances, but said the time had come to prioritise national interests and commitments to investors, customers, partners, and global energy markets.
The exit follows long-running tensions between the UAE’s large-scale investment in production capacity and OPEC+’s policy of strict output cuts aimed at propping up prices. Leaving the alliance frees the country to pursue its target of raising output capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027, without being bound by quota constraints.