The United Arab Emirates has delivered a devastating blow to OPEC’s authority, walking away from the oil cartel in a secretive late-night decision that severs nearly six decades of alliance and leaves Saudi Arabia dangerously isolated within the producer group.
A secret exit with no consultation
The United Arab Emirates has officially left the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the nation’s energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, has confirmed. The decision was taken behind closed doors, without prior consultation with fellow members. The Emirates’ departure is not merely a diplomatic scandal but a collapse of the global energy order that took decades to build.
The UAE will also withdraw from the wider OPEC+ alliance, formed in 2016, which includes OPEC’s 12 core members alongside ten other major producers – among them Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
End of a 60‑year partnership
Having joined the cartel in 1967, the UAE spent nearly 60 years as one of its leading forces. Ranked among the world’s top six oil producers, the country is now free from the production quotas imposed by the cartel.
The stated reason for the exit is a “review of current and future production policies.” In recent years, OPEC has consistently ignored Washington’s demands to increase output and lower prices, according to news agencies. The US administration had voiced frustration with the cartel’s stance. Following the outbreak of war in the Gulf and the subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, OPEC members suffered colossal losses, while American oil companies only grew wealthier.
Officials in Abu Dhabi have said that OPEC can no longer guarantee the protection of its members’ interests. The UAE’s departure reduces the number of Saudi allies within the organisation.
America’s moment of strength
The US is currently at a peak in its own production and has also established control over Venezuela’s oil reserves. A unified alliance of oil producers might have served as a counterweight to Washington, but the UAE’s exit has cast doubt on any such balancing act.
The UAE had long been dissatisfied with the cartel’s policies, particularly the dominant position of Saudi Arabia. The Emirates invested billions of dollars in expanding its production capacity, only to see existing quotas force it to restrain output. Emirati officials had previously hinted at a possible withdrawal from OPEC and OPEC+ in both 2020 and 2023.
A historic collapse in production
According to The National, the escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict in 2026 triggered a historic collapse in OPEC’s oil output. Production fell by nearly a third, to 20.79 million barrels per day – a decline worse than that of May 2020, the 1991 Gulf war, and the oil crises of the 1970s.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused OPEC of market manipulation, tying US military aid to Gulf states to oil prices. “While the United States protects OPEC members, they exploit this by forcing high oil prices,” the president said.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has clashed with the organisation in recent years over trends in global oil demand and OPEC’s decisions to restrict supply.
The UAE’s decision today follows criticism from other Arab states over what they saw as insufficient measures to defend the region during the recent Middle Eastern conflict.
During a meeting of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) on April 28, Emirati authorities criticised their partners for a weak response to Iranian actions in the Gulf of Ormuz (Strait of Hormuz). “GCC members supported each other logistically, but politically and militarily, this is – in my view – the weakest stance the organisation has ever taken,” Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE president, told the summit.
