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The United Arab Emirates’ decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+ was not aimed at any country and was made to focus on national priorities and the UAE economy, Sultan al-Jaber, the minister who heads state oil giant ADNOC, said Monday.
The move, which took effect Friday, followed months of tensions with neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter and OPEC’s de facto leader, over foreign policy, oil output and the Middle East war.
“The United Arab Emirates’ sovereign decision to reposition itself within the global energy landscape, and to exit OPEC and OPEC+, is not a decision directed against anyone,” Jaber told a conference in Abu Dhabi.
Jaber, who is ADNOC’s CEO and the UAE’s industry and advanced technology minister, said the decision was tied to the country’s long-term economic and industrial goals.
Leaving OPEC “serves our national interests and long-term strategic objectives, aligns with our industrial, economic, and developmental ambitions, and gives us greater ability to accelerate investment, expand, and create value,” he said.
The UAE’s departure from the Saudi-dominated oil cartel came after months of tensions with Saudi Arabia.
A close partnership between the Gulf nations has turned into an open rivalry since a public falling out in December over Yemen. Analysts said the exit further strained UAE-Saudi ties, which have also been affected by long-running disagreements over OPEC production quotas.
The UAE had been OPEC’s fourth-largest producer, and its exit dealt a blow to the cartel’s ability to control oil prices.
The UAE has long been frustrated with OPEC quotas, which sought to cap Emirati production at 3.4 million barrels per day.
Abu Dhabi aims to expand the UAE’s production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027. On Sunday, ADNOC pledged to spend $55 billion on new projects over the next two years.
Analysts have said that added revenue from oil sales would allow the UAE to increase investments in artificial intelligence and other high-tech sectors.
“This move was not done in isolation,” Jaber said at the Make It In The Emirates conference on the UAE industry.
“It is part of a broader effort to reshape our economy and industrial base through a vision that connects energy, technology, and industry, aligning our resources with national priorities to build a stronger, more resilient economy,” he said.
While the UAE is not the first country to leave OPEC, it is by far the biggest producer to do so.
“There is a great difference between those who focus only on surviving crises... and those who seize them as opportunities... and turn them into new beginnings,” Jaber said.
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