UAE: Leaving OPEC, OPEC+ was sovereign strategic decision, not political move

DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates' decision to withdraw from 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 Al Mazrouei, said on Saturday in a post on X.

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 May 1, 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", 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 of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

- Ahmed Elimam, Writing by Jana Choukeir and Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Louise Heavens/Reuters