People walk by the building headquarters of OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) as the logo is seen on its facade in Vienna, Austria. AFP
The move aimed at focusing on national priorities and the UAE economy, said Sultan Al Jaber, who is ADNOC's CEO and the country's industry and advanced technology minister.
"The United Arab Emirates' sovereign decision to reposition itself within the global energy landscape and to exit OPEC and OPEC+ is not a decision directed against anyone," he told a conference in Abu Dhabi.
The exit of the UAE, which was OPEC's fourth-largest producer, dealt a blow to the cartel's ability to control oil prices.
Leaving OPEC "serves our national interests and long-term strategic objectives, aligns with our industrial, economic, and developmental ambitions, and gives us greater ability to accelerate investment, expand, and create value", Jaber said.
"This move was not done in isolation," he said at the Make It In The Emirates conference on UAE industry.
"It is part of a broader effort to reshape our economy and industrial base through a vision that connects energy, technology, and industry, aligning our resources with national priorities to build a stronger, more resilient economy."
While the UAE is not the first country to leave OPEC, it is by far the biggest producer to do so.
The UAE has long been frustrated with OPEC's quotas, which sought to cap Emirati production at 3.4 million barrels a day.
Abu Dhabi seeks to expand the UAE's production capacity to five million barrels a day by 2027. On Sunday, ADNOC pledged to spend $55 billion on new projects over the next two years.
The added revenue from oil sales would allow the UAE to step up its investments in artificial intelligence and other high-tech sectors, some analysts have said.
"There is a great difference between those who focus only on surviving crises... and those who seize them as opportunities... and turn them into new beginnings," Jaber said.
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