UAE in shock OPEC exit

The sudden announcement of the UAE’s exit from OPEC has seemingly overshadowed the US-Iran war on Tuesday, prompting market participants to speculate if this could lead to a wider shake-up of Middle Eastern energy policies, OilPrice.com reportd.

The United Arab Emirates has said it will leave OPEC and the OPEC+ oil group effective May 1, claiming the decision follows a review of its production capacity (targeting 5 million b/d by 2027) and was based on the country’s national interests.

However, Brent futures are back above $110 per barrel as industry voices are increasingly warning of the US-Iran war degenerating into a ‘forever’ conflict.

That sentiment was boosted by the failure of this weekend’s Islamabad talks and Trump’s subsequent comments on Iranian ceasefire proposals, saying he was ‘unhappy’ with Tehran’s attitude.

China’s state-controlled refiners Sinopec and CNPC have started applying for government export permits that would allow them to resume refined product exports in May, citing ample domestic stockpiles of transportation fuels and high regional cracks.

In a rare occurrence, Ukraine repeatedly attacked the 240,000 b/d Tuapse refinery this week after it was already halted in April 16, with the new strikes causing a major fire at the facility and forcing local authorities to evacuate adjacent areas.

Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) has informed customers that LPG shipments from its Juaymah facility on the country’s east coast would continue to be suspended through May, for the third month in a row.

Nigeria’s national oil company NNPC has raised the official selling prices of all 37 Nigerian crude grades for May-loading cargoes, hiking its flagship grade Bonny Light by a whopping $6.13 per barrel compared to April, whilst Forcados is up by $7.01 per barrel.

Global trading firm Vitol has signed a memorandum of understanding with Argentinian developer Camuzzi on the $3.9 billion LNG del Plata project, potentially the third liquefaction plant in the country, with an option to buy 100% of its production.

According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, Somali pirates have attacked and hijacked an oil products tanker sailing off the coast of Somalia this week, qualifying the risk of further pirate attacks in the region as ‘substantial’.

Algeria’s national oil company Sonatrach and Chad’s state hydrocarbon firm SHT have agreed to build a new refinery in Chad, adding another 20,000 b/d capacity plant to the 20,000 b/d Ndjamena refinery that is already in operation.

One of China’s leading petrochemical players, the 400,000 b/d Hengli refinery in Dalian was hit with US sanctions for alleged trade with Iran, with the company’s press release stating it has enough oil inventories to sustain operations through at least July.

Vietnam is boosting its imports of liquefied natural gas as it braces for above-average temperatures in May-June, already importing 276,000 tonnes this month, the highest monthly reading on record and double the amount in the same period of 2025.

In March 2026, the first month of the US-Iran conflict, global sales of electric vehicles surged by 75% month-over-month to 1.14 million units, driven predominantly by Europe, Australia, and Northeast Asia, whilst the sales in North America dipped.

Australian miner Fortescue is expected to finalize its term contract with China’s state iron ore buyer CMRG in the coming months, building on last week’s negotiation breakthrough of peer miner BHP, potentially ending a months-long supply halt.

Foreshadowing what Europe could face soon, the government of Sweden has issued a notice about potential shortages of jet fuel as the Scandinavian country imported some 630,000 tonnes of jet fuel in 2025, even though it has access to North Sea oil.

US downstream giant Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) has completed the acquisition of the 110,000 b/d Lindsey refinery, shut in July 2025 after its previous owner Prax declared bankruptcy, intending to leverage the site’s storage capacity without resuming runs there.

French oil giant TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) will spud its first well offshore Suriname by year-end 2026, remaining committed to its pledge to start production from the $12.5 billion Gran Morgu project by mid-2028, building on the success of neighboring Guyana.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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