UAE quits OPEC in blow to cartel that could reshape global oil markets | CNN Business

The United Arab Emirates will leave OPEC, a decades-old cartel of the world’s top oil exporters, delivering a shock that will ripple through global oil markets at a time of unprecedented turmoil caused by the Iran war. The UAE plans to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, on Friday, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported Tuesday. The decision also extends to OPEC+, a larger group that consists of other oil producers such as Russia. The decision followed a review of the UAE’s “current and future (production) capacity and is based on our national interest,” according to a statement from the news agency. OPEC is a group of the world’s biggest oil exporters that coordinates output in order to influence global supply and prices. The move will allow the UAE — one of OPEC’s top three producers — to break free from the output limits imposed by the cartel, whose de facto leader is Saudi Arabia. The UAE’s withdrawal “marks a significant shift for the oil-producer group,” said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at consultancy Rystad. “Alongside Saudi Arabia, it is one of the few members with meaningful spare (producti

Apr 28, 2026 → May 7, 2026