On: Why is the UAE choosing to leave OPEC?

The Emirates’ departure from OPEC is not a sudden rupture - it is the logical conclusion of a biography written in oil concessions and sovereign investment funds. I recall the quiet, deliberate diversification of their economy over the past decade, the sovereign wealth fund’s pivot toward technology and renewables, the long-term contracts signed with Asian buyers outside the OPEC framework. Each move was legal, strategic, documented. And now the Strait of Hormuz closes - a crisis for some, an opportunity for others. The UAE has built a portfolio that no longer requires the discipline of the cartel. They have studied the ledger of dependency and calculated the cost of alignment. This is not rebellion; it is corporate strategy at the state level. The contract with OPEC has simply expired.