UAE to Leave OPEC on May 1 as ADNOC Seeks Output Boost

VIENNA (DTN) – The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday (4/28) announced they will exit OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1.

A member since 1967, the country has over the past several years participated in joint production curtailments rather reluctantly given the growth potential of its fossil fuel industry. ADNOC, the UAE’s state-run oil company, plans to lift oil output above 5 million bpd by the end of next year.

The UAE and de-facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads over market strategy behind closed doors for years, given the UAE being more interested in investing in a growing industry than in artificially curtailing output to support higher prices. Saudi-led initiatives like production ceilings have in the past capped growth in the UAE’s oil sector.

The timing of the announcement was likely carefully chosen to not rattle markets into a selloff. Most of the country’s oil exports have been shut in the Persian Gulf since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March. Production is unlikely to significantly ramp up as long as flows remain constricted, meaning this decision will do little to alleviate the most severe oil supply disruption in history.

Crude oil from the UAE seldomly makes it to the U.S., which tends to import heavier, more sour grades from the region. Energy Information Administration data show the last shipment from the UAE, some 720,000 bbl, arriving in November 2025. Last year, oil flows from the UAE averaged 28,000 bpd, representing 5.7% of U.S. crude imports from the Persian Gulf and less than 0.5% of total U.S. crude imports.