UAE Announces Withdrawal from OPEC and OPEC+
The UAE announced its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ on Tuesday, dealing a heavy blow to the oil export organization and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia. Currently, the Iran war has triggered a historic energy shock and disrupted the global economy.
As a long-term member of OPEC, the UAE's surprising withdrawal could cause organizational chaos and weaken its power. Despite internal disagreements on a range of issues, from geopolitics to production quotas, the organization usually strives to present a united front.
Gulf oil producers within OPEC were already struggling to export via the Strait of Hormuz due to threats from Iran and attacks on ships. The strait, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman, typically sees about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.
But the UAE’s exit from OPEC is a major win for former U.S. President Trump, who accused the organization of “ripping off the rest of the world” by pushing up oil prices.
Trump also linked U.S. military support for the Gulf region to oil prices, saying that these countries were “taking advantage of it” by setting high oil prices while the U.S. defended them.
The UAE is a regional commercial hub and one of Washington’s most important allies. The move comes after the UAE criticized other Arab nations for not doing enough to protect it from repeated attacks by Iran during the war.
UAE President’s Diplomatic Advisor Anwar Gargash criticized the response from Arab and Gulf nations to Iranian attacks at a sub-forum of the “Gulf Influencers Forum” on Monday.
Gargash said, “The GCC countries support each other logistically, but politically and militarily, I think their position is at its weakest historically.”
He said, “I expected this kind of weakness from the Arab League and was not surprised, but I was surprised to see it from the GCC.”