Key points about OPEC: What is this oil cartel and why is the UAE distancing itself?
29 April 2026 at 10:02
The war in Iran, which in just two months has shaken the global energy supply chain, is now opening a crack in one of the pillars of oil diplomacy of the last five decades. In the midst of the Persian Gulf blockade, the United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the cartel that has set the course for the crude oil market since the energy crisis of the 1970s. This organization has lost influence with the rise of other producers such as the United States, Canada and Brazil, which has increased the economic and political cost of influencing oil prices through production increases or cuts.

ยฉ Sean Gallup (Getty Images)