NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD NEWS) — The United Arab Emirates said it will leave OPEC on May 1, ending nearly six decades in the group and giving itself more freedom to raise oil output. The move matters because the UAE is one of the few Gulf producers with significant spare capacity, so its decision raises new questions about future cartel discipline and the direction of global supply.
OPEC has listed the UAE as a member since 1967. In recent years, the country has remained part of OPEC+'s supply management, even as Abu Dhabi has pushed for more room to expand production and investment.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has said the UAE was producing just under 3 million barrels a day on average under OPEC+ limits, while ADNOC (the state-owned energy company of Abu Dhabi and the main oil producer in the United Arab Emirates) has been working toward 5 million barrels a day of production capacity by 2027.
That does not mean a flood of new oil arrives overnight. But it does give the UAE more flexibility to respond to prices, demand, and regional shipping risk on its own terms.
The broader signal is strategic. If a major low-cost producer decides that national interests matter more than quota discipline, the future cohesion of OPEC+ becomes harder to take for granted.
