The Wall Street Journal says that the rift and division between the UAE and Saudi Arabia is increasing over foreign investment, oil and the war on Yemen, and reports that Abu Dhabi is having an internal discussion regarding leaving OPEC.
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The Wall Street Journal: The division between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi may push the latter to exit OPEC
newspaper reported Wall Street JournalThe absence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from the summit of Middle East leaders hosted by Abu Dhabi is an important indication of the division between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, although the two countries are still official allies.
The newspaper said that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi “diverged on several fronts, competing over foreign investment and influence in global oil markets, and collided in the direction of the Yemen war.”
She explained, “These differences erupted behind closed doors, but they are increasingly leaking into the open, threatening to rearrange alliances.”
With the aim of easing tensions between the two countries, National Security Adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Riyadh to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but he “failed” to do so, according to the “Wall Street Journal”, which indicated that Tahnoun was unable on at least one occasion following the summit. January in Abu Dhabi, from meeting the Saudi Crown Prince.
The newspaper pointed out that there are also differences between the UAE and members of the coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, regarding pumping more crude oil into the markets to increase its oil revenues, which is not currently permitted under the “OPEC Plus” agreement.
Therefore, disagreements occurred between the UAE and Saudi Arabia last October, when they decided to cut oil production to maintain market balance.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Emirati officials as saying, “Abu Dhabi is having an internal discussion regarding leaving OPEC, a decision that would shake the alliance and negatively affect global oil markets.”
And the newspaper added, that the UAE supports reducing production publicly, but secretly, it informs US officials that it wants to pump additional quantities of oil into the markets, in response to Washington’s desire, but this desire collides with Saudi refusal.
