UAE leaves OPEC, dealing major blow to global oil producers’ group

By Maha El DahanTuesday April 28, 2026

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud receives United Arab Emirates’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan ahead of an exceptional meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became a front in the Iran war two months ago, In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2026. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights

The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it was pulling out of OPEC, a dramatic move that underscores widening strains among Gulf states as the Iran war drives an unprecedented energy crisis.

The departure of the UAE, one of the group’s long-standing members, threatens to unsettle OPEC and could weaken an organisation that has typically worked hard to project cohesion even when member states clashed over politics and production targets.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei told Reuters the decision followed a close review of the country’s energy strategy.

When asked whether the UAE had consulted Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, he said no other country was approached.

“This is a policy decision, it ​has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of ⁠production,” said the energy minister.

OPEC producers in the Gulf have already faced major difficulties moving exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage between ​Iran and Oman that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas, after Iranian threats ​and attacks on vessels.

Mazrouei said the UAE’s exit, including from the OPEC+ alliance, would not have a major market impact given the turmoil around the waterway.

WIN FOR TRUMP

The UAE’s departure from OPEC amounts to a victory for U.S. President Donald Trump, who in a ​2018 speech to the U.N. General Assembly blasted the organisation for “ripping off the rest of the world” by pushing up oil prices.

Trump ​has also tied U.S. military backing for Gulf states to oil prices, arguing that while the U.S. protects OPEC members, they “exploit this by imposing ‌high oil ⁠prices”.

The announcement followed a period in which the UAE, a major regional commercial and financial center and one of Washington’s closest allies, publicly faulted fellow Arab countries for failing to do enough to shield it from repeated Iranian attacks during the war.

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser for the UAE president, criticized the Arab and Gulf response to the Iranian attacks during a session at the Gulf Influencers Forum on Monday.

“The Gulf ​Cooperation Council countries supported each ​other logistically, but politically and ⁠militarily, I think their position has been the weakest historically,” Gargash said.

“I expect this weak stance from the Arab League and I am not surprised by it, but I haven’t expected it from ​the (Gulf) Cooperation Council and I am surprised by it,” he said.

Mazrouei said the UAE had long been part of both OPEC and OPEC+, but argued that rising global energy demand made the country’s decision timely and necessary.

The UAE’s exit comes at a moment when spare capacity worldwide is near historic lows, a condition that has left the oil market tighter and more vulnerable.

Operating outside the ⁠producer group ​will allow the UAE to make fuller use of its role as a supplier of some ​of the world’s cheapest and lowest-carbon barrels.

In the UAE’s view, the move will ultimately benefit consumers and the wider global economy by helping deliver a more responsive and dependable energy supply.

Additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Yousef Saba; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Aidan Lewis