The United Arab Emirates raised its crude output to near record highs above 3.8 million barrels per day in June, after the Gulf nation quit OPEC to escape production caps, Reuters reported citing two sources familiar with production data said on Monday. Bloomberg data showed even higher UAE exports, rising to 3.94mmb/d, just shy of the record hit in late 2025.
June's output was the highest since April 2020, according to Reuters estimates, exceeding levels seen before the Iran war and providing an early vindication of the UAE's decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1 to free production from quota restrictions.
The UAE told OPEC it pumped 2.11 million bpd of crude in May at the height of the conflict shut-ins, down from about 3.40 million bpd in February. The International Energy Agency, however, assessed a much higher production level for both months, seeing May output at 2.8 million bpd and February at 3.64 million.
Underscoring the supply surge, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has been selling crude through tenders at discounted prices, traders told Reuters. The rebound has outpaced that of other Gulf producers, many of whom have restored exports through the Strait of Hormuz but remain well below pre-conflict production levels.
Abu Dhabi has argued that years of investment in production capacity justified greater freedom to produce oil, with Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei saying at the time of the OPEC exit that the UAE owed it to investors to sup
