UAE Orders ADNOC to Accelerate West-East Oil Pipeline Bypassing Strait of Hormuz

The United Arab Emirates directed ADNOC to accelerate construction of a new West-East oil pipeline intended to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and double its export capacity through Fujairah by 2027.

“The United Arab Emirates is fast-tracking the construction of a new pipeline, which will double the export capacity through Fujairah, a port city in the country’s east, as Gulf nations seek to bypass the Strait of Hormuz”

Al Jazeera

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed chaired an executive committee meeting on Friday, May 15, where he directed the company “to accelerate delivery of the project.”

Al Jazeera

ADNOC said construction is already underway on the new pipeline that will transport crude oil to the port of Fujairah, while the UAE’s existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day.

The Maritime Executive said the project is believed to have a capacity for approximately 1.5 million barrels per day, and it described Fujairah as on the eastern shore of the UAE, accessed by the Gulf of Oman and below the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE’s pipeline push is framed as a response to Iran effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz since February 28, when Iran was attacked by the U.S. and Israel, choking off about a fifth of global oil supplies.

The Globe and Mail reported that the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since Feb. 28, and it said the disruption has sent energy prices soaring, prompting fuel rationing in some countries and fears of an economic downturn as inflation builds.

CNBC

Middle East Eye said the UAE was exporting around 3.4 million bpd of oil before the war on Iran and that exports were cut by roughly 60 percent after Iran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz and imposed its own passageway system.

UPI said the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline has allowed the UAE to continue exporting oil during the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which it described as grinding much of the Middle East oil trade to a halt for more than two months.

The UAE’s plan is also tied to its departure from OPEC, with The Guardian saying the decision to fast-track the second pipeline came just weeks after the UAE quit Opec after 60 years of membership.

“(CNN) — Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Friday that the United Arab Emirates is constructing a new oil pipeline that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the line is expected to double the country's export capacity via Fujairah port on the Gulf of Oman”

CNN Arabic

CNBC reported that the UAE announced earlier this month it would depart OPEC, of which it was a member since 1967, and it said the project is expected to come online in 2027 and will double ADNOC’s export capacity.

The Globe and Mail said the UAE exited OPEC two weeks earlier, freeing it of oil output quotas, and it reported ADNOC is targeting 5 million bpd of capacity by next year after previously reaching 4.85 million bpd in May 2024.

The Maritime Executive added that with the fate of the Strait of Hormuz uncertain and Iran asserting it will retain control, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi/UAE will be the only two countries with the ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.