UAE quits OPEC and OPEC+: Explained | CLAT Explainer

VIDEO EXPLAINER | 2 NOVEMBER 2026

On Tuesday 28 April 2026 the United Arab Emirates announced that it was leaving both OPEC and the wider OPEC+ alliance, with effect from 1 May 2026, citing its national interest and long-term energy strategy. The exit of a member that had belonged since 1967 (as Abu Dhabi) cut OPEC from 12 to 11 members and removed one of the few producers with large spare capacity, in the middle of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

What happened

The UAE produced 3.4 million bpd before the Iran war; after Hormuz closed its output fell 44 per cent to 1.9 million bpd in March 2026.

The UAE announced its decision to quit OPEC and OPEC+ on Tuesday, 28 April 2026, in a statement carried by state media.

As of 28 April 2026 the 11 remaining OPEC members are Algeria, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The UAE’s crude production capacity is about 4.85 million barrels per day, and ADNOC aims to reach 5 million bpd by 2027.

Under OPEC+ quotas the UAE had been producing close to 30 per cent below its production capacity.

The UAE left not only OPEC but also its terms and obligations under the wider OPEC+ grouping that includes Russia.

The UAE said the time had come to focus its efforts on ‘what our national interest dictates’.

The official statement said the move reflected the UAE’s ‘long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile’.

The UAE energy ministry told the state news agency WAM that the decision followed a comprehensive review of its production policy and its current and future capacity.

UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei called the exit a ‘policy-driven evolution aligned with long-term market fundamentals’.

Al Mazrouei said the UAE did not raise the issue with any other country, including Saudi Arabia, before deciding.

ADNOC chief Dr Sultan Al Jaber described the decision as ‘sovereign’ and in line with the UAE’s true production capability and national interest.

After the UAE’s departure OPEC is left with 11 members (it had 12 before 1 May 2026).

The UAE’s withdrawal from OPEC took effect on 1 May 2026 – three days after the announcement (announced 28 April; effective 1 May).

EIA: OPEC (with the UAE) produced about 35% of world crude in 2025; without the UAE the share would have been 31%.

EIA: OPEC+ produced about 46% of global crude in 2025; without the UAE the figure would be closer to 42%.

In 2025 the UAE held the third-largest crude production capacity in OPEC, behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq (EIA).

Background and the rules behind it

OPEC was created at the Baghdad Conference in September 1960.

OPEC’s five founder members were Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

OPEC was formed to counter the ‘Seven Sisters’ – Western oil companies that controlled production and set prices.

Key terms

• OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – intergovernmental oil producers’ group, founded Baghdad 1960, HQ Vienna.
• OPEC+ / Declaration of Cooperation: Wider 2016 arrangement in which OPEC members coordinate output with about 10 non-OPEC producers led by Russia.
• Spare capacity: Output a producer could add quickly above what it is currently pumping; UAE and Saudi Arabia held most of OPEC’s.
• Production quota: Output ceiling agreed for each member to manage supply and prices.
• ADCOP: Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline to Fujairah, letting UAE exports bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Sources

Primary documents and reporting listed in the fact base: aljazeera.com, eia.gov, thenationalnews.com, bbc.com, khaleejtimes.com. Lead image: Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.