UAE to accelerate oil pipeline project to expand ability to bypass Hormuz

The United Arab Emirates will accelerate construction of a new oil pipeline to double its export capacity through Fujairah by 2027, the government’s Abu Dhabi Media Office says, vastly expanding its ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

It does 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, can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day, and has proved crucial as the country seeks to maximize direct exports from the Gulf of Oman coast.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the only Gulf producers with pipelines that export crude outside the Strait of Hormuz, while Oman has a long coastline on 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.