The United Arab Emirates‘ (UAE) decision to ​withdraw from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ was a sovereign and strategic ​choice based on ⁠a comprehensive assessment of its production policy and future capabilities, the ‌UAE Energy Minister, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, said on Saturday (May 16, 2026) in ‌a post on ‌X.

Mr. Mazrouei ⁠added that the move ⁠was not politically motivated and did not reflect divisions with partners.

The UAE ​announced late ‌April that it was quitting OPEC on Friday (May 1, 2026), dealing a blow to the oil ‌producers’ group as an unprecedented ​energy crisis caused by the Iran war ⁠exposes discord among Gulf nations.

“It is not driven by political ‌considerations, nor does it reflect any division between the UAE and its partners”, Mr. Mazrouei added.

The exit of the UAE — one of the group’s ‌biggest producers — weakens OPEC’s control over ​global oil supplies and widens a rift between the ⁠UAE and its neighbour Saudi ⁠Arabia, effectively the leader Mr. Haitham Al-Ghais of Kuwait of the OPEC.