UAE breaks oil export record following its exit from OPEC: data

Where Diplomacy Meets News

UAE breaks oil export record following its exit from OPEC: data

July 1, 2026

DUBAI,— The United Arab Emirates pushed crude oil and condensate exports to a record high in June, preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa showed, Reuters reported, weeks after the Gulf nation quit OPEC.

The UAE left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after nearly 60 years of membership on May 1, during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, to maximize resource value free from the group’s output quotas.

Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz led Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC, to set up a tanker shuttle service.

Ships moved with transponders switched off to reduce attack risk while crossing the Gulf, trade sources and experts said. The so-called dark vessels helped evade strikes.

UAE crude and condensate exports averaged about 3.7 million barrels per day in June, the highest on record, topping the 3.1 million to 3.3 million barrels per day seen before the conflict began, said Johannes Rauball, senior oil analyst at Kpler.

The prior peak was 3.44 million barrels per day in April 2020, when Saudi Arabia and Russia fought a short oil price war.

The increase came from several factors, including the resumption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, freeing trapped vessels, Rauball said.

UAE supply was ramping up toward pre-war levels while the country drew down stored oil to keep volumes high, he added.

Abu Dhabi crude loadings reached 4 million barrels per day between June 1 and June 29, surpassing the pre-war level of 3.4 million barrels per day, said Emma Li, senior oil analyst at Vortexa.

Exports hit a record 3.7 million barrels per day, up from 3.3 million barrels per day in the first two months of the year, she added.

Asia remains a top market for ADNOC, but demand west of the Suez Canal has grown, covering Africa, the U.S. West Coast, northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, a source familiar with the matter said.

Trade sources said ADNOC sold crude to Nigeria’s Dangote refinery and Turkey’s Tupras.

Gulf oil loadings, excluding Iran, rose 65% month on month to 7 million barrels per day in June, still below 16.6 million barrels per day seen in February, Vortexa’s Li said.

ADNOC issued its fifth crude sale tender this month, offering Upper Zakum, Umm Lulu or Das crude in parcels of 500,000 barrels to 2 million barrels for loading from June to August. The tender closes Wednesday.

(With files from Reuters)