ADNOC says new UAE oil pipeline route to avoid the Hormuz Strait

Dubai — Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Wednesday that the new west-to-east oil pipeline designed to bypass the Hormuz Strait is nearly 50 percent complete, as the United Arab Emirates accelerates efforts to strengthen energy export security amid regional tensions.

According to Gulf News, ADNOC chief executive Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said the project is being accelerated toward the planned completion target of 2027. ‘At present, the project is almost 50 percent complete, and we are speeding up its execution to finish in 2027,’ Al Jaber said during a live online briefing hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank.

The oil pipeline forms part of the UAE’s long-term strategy to reduce dependence on the Hormuz Strait, one of the world’s most crucial oil transit routes. ‘There is still too much energy in the world that must pass through choke points that are too few in number,’ Al Jaber said, adding that the UAE has invested for more than a decade in infrastructure to avoid these maritime chokepoints.

The UAE has expanded export infrastructure through the Fujairah emirate on the Gulf of Oman coast, enabling crude shipments to bypass the Hormuz Strait. When in operation in 2027, the new pipeline is expected to double ADNOC’s export capacity via Fujairah. The existing Habshan–Fujairah pipeline currently has a transport capacity of up to 1.8 million barrels of crude per day.

Since Israel and the United States launched joint strikes against Iran in February, Tehran has imposed tight restrictions in the Hormuz Strait in retaliation.