The UAE left Opec and Opec+ on “good terms” and will continue to work with members of the groups to stabilise oil markets, said Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.
“This is not the first time that a member country exited the group. It happened before and the group has been relatively calm about that,” Mr Al Mazrouei told the Make it in the Emirates summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
“We are not new to this market. We understand that we will always be acting responsibly. Hopefully, we will contribute as well to world stability between supply and demand.”
The UAE, the world's seventh-largest producer, withdrew from Opec on May 1, after more than five decades as a member. The departure removes a key swing producer and came at a time of mounting pressure for Opec and the expanded group Opec+ as they confront a historic supply shock and internal compliance issues.
The Strait of Hormuz, the key water channel in the Arabian Gulf from where 20 per cent of the global crude and gas supplies normally flow, has effectively been closed since the start of the Iran war in February. The waterway should be open and “no one should be allowed to control it,” Mr Al Mazrouei added.
“The best-case scenario is that no one should be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. Restrictions to shipping in the waterway affect the whole world, he added. “The shock in the market is something that is impacting the poor nations, the shock and energy is impacting the consumers, and it's not just something that's impacting the Gulf states, for us in the UAE.”
Shipping traffic through the strait remains at a near standstill amid blockades imposed by Iran and the US. Before the war began on February 28, about 140 ships passed through the waterway each day, but the number has fallen sharply to about 12 ships in recent times, Kpler data shows.
Shipping companies are avoiding transiting through the channel owing to security concerns, even after US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that American forces would begin escorting vessels out of the strait under a "humanitarian" initiative.
The US is among the countries seeking to ensure control of the strait is kept out of the hands of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been "terrorising civilians all over the Gulf states and other nations as well", Mr Al Mazrouei said.
The IRGC has fired at vessels passing through the strait since the beginning of the war. Several ships have been hit, with the latest vessel struck near Fujairah.
Mr Al Mazrouei said the world needed more energy and drawing from strategic reserves owing to the regional crisis will push demand higher. But he said responsible producers will not flood the market and "will produce wisely", to balance supply and demand.
