Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

UAE Announces Withdrawal from OPEC, OPEC+


(MENAFN) The United Arab Emirates moved Tuesday to reassure global energy markets that its state oil giant will maintain full supply commitments, even as Abu Dhabi announced a historic departure from both OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance — a seismic split triggered by deepening turmoil stemming from the US-Israeli war against Iran.

UAE Industry Minister Sultan Al Jaber, who simultaneously serves as managing director and group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), took to X to frame the country's exit from the decades-old producer bloc as a matter of national prerogative, calling it "a sovereign decision in line with its long-term energy strategy."

On ADNOC's course, Al Jaber offered unambiguous reassurance to international partners. "As for ADNOC, our focus remains unchanged," he wrote, pledging that the state-owned energy giant would continue to meet "the growing energy needs of our customers and partners around the world with reliability, responsibility, and the ambition to deliver more."

He said ADNOC would pursue the approach across "oil, gas, chemicals, and low carbon and renewable energy."

The UAE's withdrawal represents one of the most consequential fractures within the OPEC framework in years, arriving at a moment of acute stress for global energy supply chains. The ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran has sent crude prices sharply higher while stoking widespread anxiety over the reliability of Gulf energy exports.

At the epicenter of those supply fears sits the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow but critical chokepoint through which a substantial share of the world's oil and gas transits daily. The conflict has severely curtailed flows through the waterway, amplifying market volatility and putting the security of global energy supply under intense scrutiny.

Abu Dhabi's decision to break from OPEC+ reflects a strategic posture long in the making. The UAE has pursued an aggressive expansion of its production capacity in parallel with major investments in gas, petrochemicals, and low-carbon and renewable energy — a diversified approach designed to cement its standing as an indispensable global energy supplier.

Tuesday's statement from ADNOC makes clear that despite the political rupture with the producer alliance, Abu Dhabi has no intention of stepping back from its international supply obligations.

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