The UAE had been thinking of leaving the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel for the last five years as the oil quota allotted to the country by the Saudi Arabia-dominated group was not considered sufficient, according to Navdeep Singh Suri, India’s former Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.    

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Suri said: "There were indications as early as July 2021 that they were not happy with the quota that was allocated to them, about 2.7 million barrels per day. And they had said that if the quota is not raised, they might consider leaving."