UAE leaves OPEC citing ‘national interests’

The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced that it will withdraw from the OPEC and OPEC+ groupings on Friday to focus on “national interests”, the state-owned news agency WAM reported.

This came after energy prices escalated in light of the war in West Asia.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded in 1960 and comprises 12 countries, mainly from West Asia, that aim to coordinate petroleum policies and influence global oil prices. The UAE had joined the grouping in 1967.

OPEC+ is a broader alliance formed in 2016 that includes 10 other major non-OPEC producers to strengthen the group’s hold over global energy supply. This alliance, which also includes Russia, accounted for nearly 50% of global oil and oil liquids production in 2025.

However, this share fell to about 44% in March because of the war in West Asia, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, the UAE government said in a statement that the decision to leave the OPEC and OPEC+ reflected its “long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, the news agency reported.

It also followed a “comprehensive review of the UAE’s production policy and its current and future capacity and is based on our national interest and our commitment to contributing effectively to meeting the market’s pressing needs”.

“During our time in the organisation, we...

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