UAE Halfway Through Hormuz Bypass Pipeline

(MENAFN) The UAE has completed nearly half of a second pipeline designed to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz, the chief of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) disclosed Wednesday, as Gulf producers race to secure alternative export corridors amid the waterway's prolonged shutdown.

"Right now, too much of the world's energy still moves through too few chokepoints," ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in an interview at the Atlantic Council.

The new artery is projected to double ADNOC's export capacity through Fujairah — a UAE port on the Gulf of Oman sitting beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Construction has been fast-tracked in response to the Iran war, with the pipeline expected to come online in 2027.

The UAE has already been rerouting a portion of its crude exports through an existing pipeline to Fujairah, which currently operates at a maximum capacity of 1.8 million barrels per day.

Al Jaber characterized Iran's blockade of Hormuz — which began in early March — as the most catastrophic energy supply disruption ever recorded. He noted that more than 1 billion barrels of oil have already been lost since the strait's closure, with nearly 100 million additional barrels forfeited for every week the waterway remains sealed.

Even an immediate end to hostilities would require at least four months to restore oil flows to 80% of normal levels, Al Jaber warned, with full normalization unlikely before the first or second quarter of 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."

The Strait of Hormuz, widely regarded as the world's most vital energy chokepoint, has been blocked since Iran moved to restrict maritime traffic following large-scale airstrikes launched jointly by the US and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signaled last week that Hormuz's centrality to global energy markets would likely erode once the conflict subsides, as Gulf nations accelerate infrastructure to route around the strait.

"This is a card you can play once," Wright said of Iran's blockade. "There'll be other routes for energy to get out of the Persian Gulf."

"We will see a decreasing importance from the Strait of Hormuz, but not a decreasing importance of those nations' energy production and energy supply," he added.

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