There had been murmurs for years. Yet, when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced its exit from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), it came as a shock. The exit of a major member will weaken the powerful cartel’s ability to influence global oil supply and prices as it did for decades. And that may be a good thing for large oil importers such as India — the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil which depends on imports to meet nearly 89% of its requirement. The UAE’s decision, and the consequent structural weakness within OPEC, is expected to exert downward pressure on oil prices in the longer term. In the short term, however, there will be no impact as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, say experts and analysts. It is clear that the UAE wants to produce as much oil as possible, even in a low oil price environment. This would mark a divergence from the years of production quotas enforced by OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, to influence oil prices.…