world
UAE to Exit OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1, 2026, Citing Strategic Energy Goals
The United Arab Emirates will withdraw from OPEC and the OPEC+ group on May 1, 2026, citing its strategic vision and energy investments. The move comes amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has disrupted global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude traded above $111 a barrel on Tuesday, more than 50% above prewar levels.
IA
AF
NBC NewsAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the OPEC+ group effective May 1, 2026. The decision, issued via the UAE's state-run WAM news agency, reflects the country's long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production, the UAE stated.
Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said the timing of the decision has a minimum impact on all producers.
-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, 2026. The country has capacity to produce roughly 5 million barrels of oil a day. It said it would bring additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.
OPEC accounts for roughly 40% of the world's oil output. The UAE's exit removes one of the cartel's few members with the ability to quickly increase production. Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, said the UAE's exit could leave OPEC structurally weaker.
"A structurally weaker OPEC, with less spare capacity concentrated within the group, will find it increasingly difficult to calibrate supply and stabilize prices," León said. The war in Iran has closed off the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies, including much of the UAE's, is transported.
Brent crude traded above $111 a barrel on Tuesday, more than 50% above its prewar price.
U.S. conflict in Iran is likely to continue as the war stretches into its second full month. Saudi Arabia was producing more than 10 million barrels of oil a day before the war, while the United States pumps more than 13 million barrels a day.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been a steady critic of OPEC during his two terms in the White House. Qatar withdrew from OPEC in 2019. The UAE hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks in 2023. Saudi Arabia and the UAE jointly fought against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in 2015, but the coalition broke down into recriminations in late December 2025.
