The UAE 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.

“This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile,” the UAE statement said.

“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added.

“However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”

The decision, in the midst of the biggest oil shock since the 1970s, is likely to weaken OPEC, dominated by the UAE’s neighbour and rival Saudi Arabia, indicating further turbulence for markets, analysts said.

Gulf oil shipments are currently being strangled by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which flows past the UAE and normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil.