What is OPEC+ and how does it affect oil prices?

A general view of Isfahan Refinery, one of the largest refineries in Iran and is considered as the first refinery in the country in terms of diversity of petroleum products in Isfahan, Iran on November 08, 2023. The products of this refinery include liquefied gas, gasoline, gas oil, aviation fuel types, kerosene, solvents, crude oil and sulfur. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

LONDON - The United Arab Emirates, one of OPEC+’s largest producers, will leave the oil producers’ alliance on May 1, it said on Tuesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, are known collectively as OPEC+. Last year, the group produced nearly 50 per cent of the world’s oil and oil liquids, according to International Energy Agency estimates. The UAE is the fourth largest producer in OPEC+.

Below are facts about OPEC+ and its role.

• RELATED: United Arab Emirates says it will leave OPEC in a blow to the oil cartel

What are OPEC and OPEC+?

OPEC was founded in 1960 in Baghdad by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with the aims of coordinating petroleum policies and securing fair and stable prices. Today, it includes 12 countries, mainly from the Middle East. The UAE joined in 1967.

The UAE is the fourth producer to leave the group in recent years, and by far the biggest. Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, quit the bloc at the start of 2024, citing disagreements over production levels. Ecuador quit OPEC in 2020 and Qatar in 2019.

The group produced over half of global crude in the 1970s, according to Reuters calculations, before the onset of non-OPEC supply sources such as the North Sea.

In later decades, OPEC’s share stood at between 30 per cent and 40 per cent but record output growth from rivals such as the United States has steadily eaten into that share.

OPEC in 2016 sought to regain influence by forming an alliance with 10 non-members, including Russia, which it called OPEC+.

As a result, its market share increased to around 51.15 million bpd, or nearly 50 per cent of global oil and oil liquids production, in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. In March, a month into the Iran war, that share fell to about 44 per cent.

U.S.-Iran war reduces UAE production

Before the start of the U.S.-Iran war at the end of February, the UAE was producing 3.3 million bpd and had capacity to be able to produce as much as 4.5-5.0 million bpd of crude and oil liquids.

Its importance in OPEC in the past was increased because, together with leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia, it had spare capacity that it could add to the market if required.

That has become academic since the unprecedented oil market disruption caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war.

Gulf OPEC+ crude oil production fell by nearly 8 million barrels per day in March versus February as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq cut output, according to OPEC.

The cuts were necessary because they were limited in how much they could export, although both have some ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has a 7 million bpd pipeline to the Red Sea while the UAE can export 1.5-1.8 million bpd through a pipeline to the port of Fujairah.

OPEC and global oil prices

OPEC+ says it cuts and raises oil production to balance the markets.

Its critics say the group manipulates prices, which OPEC denies.

During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of OPEC imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for its decision to re-supply the Israeli military, as well as other countries that supported Israel. The embargo banned petroleum exports to those nations.

The oil embargo pressured an already strained U.S. economy that had grown dependent on imported oil. Oil prices jumped, causing high fuel costs for consumers and fuel shortages. The embargo also brought the United States and other countries to the brink of a global recession.

U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the organization of “ripping off the rest of the world” by inflating oil prices. Trump has also linked U.S. military support to the Gulf with oil prices, saying that while the U.S. defends OPEC members, they “exploit this by imposing high oil prices.”

However, it was Trump who helped to convince OPEC+ to cut output in 2020 during the COVID pandemic as crude oil prices slumped and U.S. oil producers suffered.

In 2025, OPEC crude exports accounted for about 47 per cent of global crude seaborne exports, according to Kpler. In March, that share shrunk to 34.7 per cent, Kpler data show.

Which countries are OPEC members?

The current members of OPEC are: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Venezuela. The UAE said it would leave the group on May 1.

Non-OPEC countries in the global alliance of OPEC+ are represented by Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan, Sudan and Brazil, which joined in early 2025.

Sources: Reuters News, World Economic Forum website, OPEC website, U.S. Department of State website, the International Energy Agency.

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Yousef Saba; Editing by Barbara Lewis.