The UAE’s Exit from OPEC and the Fracturing of the Global Oil Order

Baba Yunus Muhammad

For decades, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stood as one of the most consequential alliances in the modern global economy. It shaped oil prices, altered geopolitical calculations, empowered postcolonial producer nations, and at critical moments demonstrated that resource-rich states could collectively resist the dominance of Western energy corporations and industrial powers. The decision by the United Arab Emirates to withdraw from OPEC therefore represents more than a technical policy disagreement. It is a signal of profound transformation within the global energy order itself.

The origins of OPEC lie in a period when newly independent and developing nations sought greater sovereignty over their natural resources. Before the organisation’s establishment in 1960, international oil markets were largely controlled by major Western companies that determined production levels and pricing with limited regard for the interests of producing states. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela responded by creating a coordinated framework through which oil exporters could collectively defend their economic interests. Read more>>