The UAE's decision to leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was three years in the making and is based on its view that the world is near the "autumn of the hydrocarbon age”, meaning the country needs to maximise oil revenues while it can, a senior adviser to the president said.
The UAE ended its nearly 60-year membership of the Opec on May 1.
In the immediate term, the decision is unlikely to affect the market because of Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but it could have a major impact on Opec's control over supplies when oil flows normalise.
Anwar Gargash, adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said that the country's exit was chiefly because its Opec production quotas kept output well below capacity.
"We see that we are close to the sort of autumn of the hydrocarbon age," he added. "And as a result, if you have the ability to produce and generate income and use that income in other investments, that's what you should do."
The UAE's production capacity is 4.85mn barrels per day (bpd).
It plans to raise it to 5mn bpd by 2027. Just before its exit from Opec and the wider Opec+ group, which brings in other oil producers led by Russia, its production target was closer to 3.5mn bpd.
ADNOC chief executive Sultan al-Jaber, speaking on Wednesday, said that the UAE would continue to be a responsible, stabilising force in energy markets.
