MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. The UAE's decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+ is due to three converging factors, Dmitry Kasatkin, partner at Kasatkin Consulting, told TASS.

"The first one is related to production capacity: the UAE (the third-largest producer in OPEC) has infrastructure for 4.85 million bpd, while the [production cut] quota held it at 3.4 million, meaning about 1.5 million bpd of capacity was idle," he said.

The second factor is related to regional security. The expert emphasized that Iran's attacks and the Hormuz blockade demonstrated that getting Tehran to protect everyone's interests in OPEC would be impossible.

"The third factor is related to the political turn toward the United States, since for the Donald Trump administration [US President], what's happening is a real victory from the standpoint of keeping prices in check," he said.

According to TASS calculations based on OPEC data, the UAE's share of OPEC production in 2024 was 11%, and 7.3% of OPEC+ production.

Earlier, the Emirates state news agency WAM reported that the UAE had decided to exit OPEC and OPEC+ from May 1, 2026. According to the agency, the UAE's decision is consistent with the country's long-term economic strategy.