UAE completes nearly half of Hormuz bypass pipeline, CEO says

The United Arab Emirates has completed nearly half of a second pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to the chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.

Al Jaber said right now, too much of the world’s energy still moves through too few chokepoints, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The new pipeline is intended to double ADNOC’s export capacity via Fujairah, a port on the Gulf of Oman situated beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE has accelerated construction of the project in response to the Iran war, with the pipeline expected to become operational in 2027.

Al Jaber made it clear that the Strait of Hormuz blockade had forced a major disruption to global energy flows, claiming more than one billion barrels of oil had already been lost, with nearly 100 million additional barrels disrupted each week the closure continues.

He added that it would take at least four months to restore oil flows to around 80% of normal levels even if the conflict ended immediately, and that full normalisation could take until early 2027.

“This is not just an economic problem,” he said. “In fact, this sets a dangerous precedent once you accept that a single country can hold the world’s most important waterway hostage.”

Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz since early March following airstrikes by the United States and Israel, which triggered the wider conflict.

The closure has severely disrupted oil and gas exports from Gulf producers.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said the strategic importance of the strait to global energy markets will decline over time as Gulf states expand alternative export routes.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov