UAE will no longer sell oil by quotas and will not have to consult anyone for the right price.
On Tuesday, May 28, 2026, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced its decision to leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Reasons for the UAE’s Decision to Quit OPEC
The UAE would like to control the prices of its oil at any given time. Normally, OPEC members agree on the amount of oil to put on the market; hence, each country has its quota. By so doing, they can sell their oil at an anticipated price.
UAE’s exit is bound to have some impact on OPEC’s capacity to influence oil pricing at a global level.
The Gulf country’s oil production accounts for 13% of OPEC’s total crude oil production. This is around 3 million barrels a day, making it OPEC’s 3rd largest oil producer.
UAE’s dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia
The UAE has long been dissatisfied with Saudi Arabia’s policies on oil production and supply. It has also been dissatisfied with the quota OPEC allocates to it.
Saudi Arabia has significant influence over OPEC’s decisions, as a founding member and the group’s leading producer. It produces around 10 million barrels a day, which accounts for about a third of OPEC’s total daily production.
Other Reasons for Quitting OPEC
Although dissatisfaction with quotas has been cited as the reason for the UAE’s decision to exit OPEC, there seem to be other reasons as well.
For starters, it has been apparent that some countries hardly respect the quotas OPEC allocates to them; they sometimes sell more than their quotas allow.
Also, the UAE is said to be unhappy with the way the Gulf countries have passively watched Iran attack assets within their borders. On March 14, 2026, for instance, Iranian missiles struck the UAE’s major oil storage asset in Fujairah. Even with the economic and infrastructural loss occasioned by the strike, not a word was heard from fellow Arab countries to the US.
Even after such destruction, the US has not been heard to make any promises to the UAE or any other Gulf state regarding compensation or assistance. Apparently, the US has assumed it is all right for them to be collateral damage in the war.
There also seem to be more reasons for the UAE’s exit from OPEC, not least the inevitability of a changed world order. It will not be surprising to see another OPEC country following the UAE’s example. Before the UAE’s exit, OPEC had 12 members.
The 11 now remaining include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo.