The United Arab Emirates leaves OPEC and OPEC+

The United Arab Emirates announced that it is leaving OPEC. It is also leaving OPEC+. The decision was announced on April 28. The country is one of the Gulf's major oil producers.

OPEC is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group of states that coordinate oil production. OPEC+ is the wider grouping that includes OPEC members and other producers, among them Russia. Leaving both means the Emirates will no longer sit inside either arrangement. Membership is how those groups try to manage supply.

The United Arab Emirates produces a large share of Gulf oil and has significant spare capacity. A departure removes that producer from joint quota decisions. The report does not say what production level the country will choose on its own. It states the exit from both groups.

The announcement comes during the 2026 Iran war and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which have pushed governments to rethink energy supply. The report of the OPEC decision does not spell out a war clause or a new export target. It records the institutional break. Other members' reactions are not included.

Quota systems only work if the main producers take part. An exit by a Gulf state is therefore a change in how the group functions, not a symbolic gesture. The Emirates named both OPEC and OPEC+ specifically. No effective date beyond the announcement is given in the brief account.

The United Arab Emirates is no longer remaining in OPEC or in OPEC+. The decision covers both the core cartel and the wider producer group. No replacement production plan was published with the exit. The announcement was made on April 28.