OPEC Heavyweight UAE President Dies
The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, died on Friday, the official news agency of OPEC’s third-largest producer reported.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan suffered a stroke in 2014 and since then has rarely participated in the daily affairs of the UAE.
His half-brother, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, aka MBZ, has been the de facto ruler of the UAE for several years now. The crown prince is expected to succeed his half-brother as head of Abu Dhabi.
The UAE will observe a forty-day national mourning with the flag at half mast starting today, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs said, adding that work will be suspended in all ministries, departments and federal, local and private entities for three days. .
Under the UAE’s constitution, Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, would act as president until the federal council of rulers of the seven emirates convenes. within 30 days to elect a new president.
The United Arab Emirates is a major oil producer, the third largest in OPEC, and is one of the most influential members of the cartel and the wider OPEC+ alliance along with a dozen non-OPEC producers. OPEC led by Russia.
In April, the United Arab Emirates pumped 3.015 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, up 36,000 bpd from March, according to secondary sources in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) from the United Arab Emirates. ‘OPEC released on Thursday. It is OPEC’s third highest production behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The UAE is also an influential voice in oil markets, as participants pay attention to what the country’s energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, says at public events.
More recently, al-Mazrouei said this week that the extreme volatility in the oil market these days is the result of boycotts by some buyers of certain crudes and is unrelated to OPEC+, and beyond the control of the government. ‘alliance.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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