United Arab Emirates ready to leave OPEC
An indiscretion shakes the world of oil: the United Arab Emirates would be ready to abandon OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries. The news, which the Emiratis hastened to deny with not too much conviction, caused a rapid drop in crude oil prices on both Brent and WTI. This is exactly the point: l’Opec represents 79% of world oil production. The United Arab Emirates, which are also among the least prolific within the organization, are worth it about 4% of the total. It is clear that their eventual exit represents a pretty big problem for the whole world.
OPEC, in fact, is to all intents and purposes a cartel which decides how much oil to extract and put on the market. Increasing production means decreasing i prices e vice versa. During the pandemic, for example, with the WTI below zero – in practice you were paid to buy del raw – Countries have naturally almost completely turned off the taps. And this caused a knock-on effect when the world restarted post-lockdown. Stocks ran out quickly and the price has skyrocketed, with peaks of up to 120 dollars a barrel in March of last year.
In 2022, the OPEC countries had a turnover of over 900 billion dollarsup by 78% over the previous year. And there is no crisis for these states that are lucky enough to have been born literally sitting on an almost inexhaustible well. Because the crude oil extracted in these nations nestled on the Arabian Peninsula is not only easier to obtain than in other Villagesbut it is also of better quality. So, if the United Arab Emirates leave OPEC, a global problem is created.
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