EPRINC’s Max Pyziur, Director of Research Programs, was quoted in Fox Business by Simon Constable in the April 29, 2026 article “What a UAE Exit from OPEC Means and Why It Matters.”
The article covers the UAE’s announcement that it will leave OPEC and OPEC+ after 59 years of membership, a watershed moment in the history of the cartel. The UAE, which produced 3.6 million barrels per day before the recent U.S.-Israel war with Iran, has announced plans to ramp output to as much as 5 million barrels per day by 2027. It also operates its own 249-mile pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, giving it significant strategic flexibility outside the OPEC quota system.
Pyziur explained the economic logic: outside the cartel, the Emirates will be able to produce more oil, and breaking away makes sense given the output constraints OPEC had imposed on them. The article also raises the prospect of a domino effect, with Iraq potentially following suit: a development that could weigh significantly on medium-term global oil prices.