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• 
  UAE’s departure from Opec marks a tectonic shift

  29 April 2026

  Commentary
  Indrajit Sen
  Oil & gas editor

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  The UAE’s decision to leave Opec and the Opec+ grouping marks a significant turning point in global oil markets and highlights shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving supply expectations.

  The UAE announced it will leave the producer alliance effective 1 May, ending nearly six decades of membership. The move reflects a broader strategic shift, as the country seeks greater flexibility over its production policy amid rising capacity and changing market conditions.

  For oil markets, this is about more than one country wanting to pump more oil. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has spent billions of dollars over the years to raise crude production capacity to 5 million barrels a day.

  Opec+ quotas had increasingly looked as though they were stifling Abu Dhabi’s growing desire to maximise revenues by tapping into its expanded spare capacity. Leaving the Opec+ coalition gives Abu Dhabi more room to monetise those investments.

  The timing also matters. It comes against a backdrop of regional security concerns, tensions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and a sense that consumers are once again being squeezed by high energy costs and depleted strategic reserves. 

  The immediate dip in the price of global benchmark Brent crude following the announcement of the UAE’s decision on 28 April showed the market’s first instinct: more UAE barrels could mean more supply and lower prices. However, the price rebound on 29 April, with Brent trading around $111 a barrel, also tells the other half of the story: extra capacity does not instantly become risk-free supply when regional bottlenecks and security threats remain front and centre.

  For Opec+, this is a blow to unity and to Saudi Arabia’s ability to marshal producer discipline. It does not mean that a price war will start tomorrow, but it raises the risk of other member states choosing to abandon the alliance’s cooperation mechanism and pursue a higher market share. In trading terms, this adds a new volatility premium: more potential supply, less cartel discipline and a Gulf energy landscape that looks significantly less predictable.

  The announcement comes at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets, with geopolitical tensions, supply chain constraints and demand recovery trends all contributing to price volatility. The UAE’s exit is expected to reshape market expectations around supply flexibility and producer coordination.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Kuwait Oil Company prepares to sign flowline contract

  29 April 2026

  

   

  State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to sign a contract worth KD174.2m ($565m) with Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco), according to industry sources.

  The contract is focused on developing flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait.

  One source said: “The contract is expected to be signed soon and everything associated with the contract award process is moving very smoothly.”

  Heisco announced in a stock exchange statement earlier this month that it had received a formal contract award letter for the project.

  While progress on the project is moving smoothly for now, the project may be impacted by fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran in the future.

  The project requires a large volume of pipelines to be transported into Kuwait, which would normally be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

  Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

  Also this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

  It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

  The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Algerian-Indian team makes oil and gas discovery in Libya

  29 April 2026

  A consortium of state-owned companies from India and Algeria has made an oil and gas discovery in Libya’s Ghadames basin.

  The consortium comprises Algeria’s Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration & Production (Sipex), Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation.

  The discovery was made in the Area 95/96 block, which is located near Libya’s border with Algeria.

  In a statement, India’s Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said that the well was completed to a final depth of 8,440 feet and achieved production of 13 million cubic feet of gas a day and 327 barrels of condensate a day during testing.

  The hydrocarbons were extracted from the Awynat Wanin and Awyn Kaza formations.

  The ministry added: “The discovery reflects the growing global footprints of Indian energy companies, importance of strategic international alliances, and our commitment to strengthening national energy security through overseas assets acquisition by national oil companies.”

  The consortium won the exploration and production rights for the block, which covers an area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres, during Libya’s fourth oil and gas licensing round in December 2007.

  Stakeholders are expecting a surge in oil and gas project activity in Libya after the country’s rival legislative bodies recently approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than 13 years.

  The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on 11 April that both chambers had endorsed the budget, saying that it was a key step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division.

  The budget is valued at LD190bn ($29.95bn), and LD12bn ($1.9bn) has been allocated to the NOC.

  An additional LD40bn ($6.3bn) has been allocated for “development projects”.

  Libya has stated that a joint committee has been formed to help prioritise development projects, and the projects have been listed in the budget.

  The development comes at a time when Libya’s oil and gas sector could be positioned to make windfall revenues as oil and gas prices remain high due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  UAE and Saudi firms plan data centre projects in Saudi Arabia

  29 April 2026

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  UAE-based firm Taranis Capital has signed a memorandum of understanding agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Emaar Executive Company to build several data centre facilities in the kingdom.

  According to a statement, the firms plan to develop, construct and operate a portfolio of data centre facilities, each with a capacity of 40-50MW.

  Emaar Executive Company will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities, alongside its design and operations expertise.

  Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the market expansion of data centres through hyperscale campuses, sovereign cloud initiatives and edge data centre deployments.

  Data centres have become foundational infrastructure across the region, underpinning national digital economies and enabling cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, smart cities, e-government platforms, fintech and cybersecurity resilience.

  Governments and enterprises are accelerating investment as data localisation requirements and power-intensive AI applications drive sustained demand for capacity.

  Data centre development is closely aligned with national strategies such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the UAE’s digital economy and AI roadmaps, and wider smart city programmes across the GCC.

  These agendas are translating into long-term demand for high-capacity, energy-efficient and resilient data centre infrastructure. 

  Priorities include hyperscale and colocation facilities to support cloud service providers; edge data centres to reduce latency and enable 5G and IoT use cases; energy-efficient designs using advanced cooling, modular construction and renewables; and strategic partnerships between global hyperscalers, local developers and utilities.

  

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  UAE to withdraw from Opec and Opec+ alliance

  28 April 2026

  The UAE has announced its decision to withdraw from Opec and the Opec+ alliance from 1 May.

  In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Energy said the move followed a “comprehensive review” of its production policy.

  “While near-term volatility, including disruptions in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, continues to affect supply dynamics, underlying trends point to sustained growth in global energy demand over the medium to long term,” the statement, issued on 28 April, said.

  “This decision follows decades of constructive cooperation. The UAE joined Opec in 1967 through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and continued its membership following the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Throughout this period, the UAE has played an active role in supporting global oil market stability and strengthening dialogue among producing nations.”

  The announcement was timed to coincide with an Opec ministerial meeting in Vienna and was communicated through state news agency Wam.

  Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has set a target of raising production capacity to 5 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2027 – up from a current capacity of around 4.85 million b/d, though the country has been constrained to producing approximately 3.4 million b/d under Opec+ quota agreements.

  Membership of a quota-constrained group sits uneasily with that ambition. The non-oil economy now accounts for roughly 75% of the UAE’s GDP, reducing the political cost of rupture with the organisation.

  The Iran war wiped out 7.88 million b/d of Opec production in March, cutting group output 27% to 20.79 million b/d – the steepest supply collapse in the organisation’s recorded history, exceeding the Covid-19 demand shock of May 2020 and the disruptions of both the 1970s oil crisis and the 1991 Gulf War. Gulf producers have been struggling to route exports through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats and attacks on vessels, further straining the group’s cohesion.

  Against that backdrop, the UAE’s departure deals a significant blow to Opec and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, which has sought to project unity despite persistent internal disagreements over quotas and geopolitics.

  The US-Israeli war on Iran since late February has had a detrimental effect on a number of Gulf states, including the UAE.

  The UAE was targeted by thousands of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, damaging strategic oil and gas facilities, denting Dubai’s appeal as a luxury tourism hotspot and slowing oil exports to a trickle.

  Whereas some Gulf states have urged dialogue with Iran, the UAE has maintained a more hawkish position. Analysts say that position is partially due to its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports and the UAE’s unwillingness to see Iran cement itself as a regional power in the Gulf.

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  Indrajit Sen