UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Opec faces longer-term challenges
The organisation may have smoothed over the cracks this time. But the UAE’s very public dissent may be just the first sign of things to come
It was little surprise that Saudi Arabia and the UAE eventually reached a compromise on Opec production and baselines, despite the high drama at the latest Opec ministerial meeting. What was surprising, though, was the public nature of the disagreement and the willingness of UAE officials to joust so vigorously with their Saudi counterparts in international media, leading to energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman playing much more a la guerre than a plaisance. Opec has had its fair share of drama over the years. Nevertheless, the fact that the two erstwhile allies who have worked closely on finessing the cartel’s policies for decades and, since 2015, co-ordinated on a range of regional
Also in this section
17 January 2025
Supply glut or supply deficit are both plausible outlooks, with tariffs and sanctions among the key risks that could swing the pendulum
17 January 2025
European Commission is on its way to meeting clean energy goals, but energy security concerns and higher costs may give it second thoughts
17 January 2025
The CEO of QatarEnergy has highlighted the potential impact a new EU directive could have on energy exports to the continent
16 January 2025
The government’s resource nationalism is aggravating the NOC’s debt position and could yet worsen if also tasked with the decarbonisation shift
