Source: Radio New Zealand
An ADNOC Gas facility, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The UAE has been an OPEC member through the emirate of Abu Dhabi since 1967. AFP / Ryan Lim
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to quit the OPEC and OPEC+ groups of major oil-producing countries is a “radical move”, a New Zealand energy expert says.
The UAE surprised markets on Wednesday by announcing it was leaving the groups from the start of May.
It has been an OPEC member through the emirate of Abu Dhabi since 1967, four years before the former British protectorate became a country.
The last OPEC member to withdraw from the cartel was Angola in 2024, AFP reported.
Energy expert David Keat told RNZ’s Morning Report the move was likely driven by the UAE’s desire to ramp up production beyond levels permitted under the OPEC agreement.
“It’s certainly a radical move and obviously its triggered by the Straits of Hormuz” he said.
“Once things are back to normal they are going to want to pump flat out to make up their losses which would exceed the OPEC quota, so that’s what could be behind it,” Keat said.
Keat said OPEC itself could face similar pressures, with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and even Iran wanting to raise production after the war.
The UAE government said the time had come to focus on what its own national interests dictated.
Brent Crude oil was trading at about US$111 a barrel on Wednesday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
