Abu Dhabi pushes new oil pipeline to bypass Strait of Hormuz

The United Arab Emirates will accelerate construction of a new oil pipeline aimed at doubling export capacity through Fujairah by 2027, said the government’s Abu Dhabi Media Office (ADMO), in a move that significantly expands its ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed has directed the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to fast-track the West-East Pipeline project during an executive committee meeting, ADMO said, adding that the pipeline is already under construction and expected to become operational in 2027, Reuters reports.

The statement did not disclose the original timeline for the project.

The UAE’s existing Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), also known as the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, currently has a capacity of up to 1.8 million barrels per day. It has played a key role as the country seeks to “maximise direct exports from the Gulf of Oman coast.”

The UAE and Saudi Arabia remain the only Gulf producers with pipelines that allow crude exports outside the Strait of Hormuz, while Oman maintains a long coastline along the Gulf of Oman.

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman was effectively shuttered by Iran in response to a US-Israeli air and naval campaign that began on February 28, choking off about a fifth of global oil supplies “that normally flow to Asia and elsewhere.”

Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain are almost wholly reliant on the strait for shipments.

Energy prices have surged amid the disruption to supplies, prompting governments to ration fuel and raising fears of an economic downturn as inflationary pressures build.

By Vafa Guliyeva