By K Raveendran Abu Dhabi’s decision to walk away from OPEC marks more than a dispute over barrels. It signals a recalibration of Gulf power, energy strategy and security alignments at a moment when the Iran war has exposed the limits of regional consensus. For decades, the UAE operated inside a cartel system dominated by Saudi Arabia’s ability to balance supply, defend prices and impose discipline on producers with divergent fiscal needs. Its exit now suggests that the cost of that discipline has begun to outweigh the benefits for a state that sees itself as a global energy, finance and...