UAE speeds Hormuz bypass pipeline 2027

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan directed ADNOC on May 15 to accelerate delivery of a new west-east oil pipeline that would expand the United Arab Emirates’ ability to export crude without using the Strait of Hormuz. The project is under construction and is expected to start operating in 2027, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) Once completed, the line will double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman coast. The order came at a meeting of the executive committee of ADNOC’s board of directors in Abu Dhabi. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) The media office said Sheikh Khaled was briefed on the pipeline as ADNOC continues to supply customers at home and abroad. Reuters and CNBC, citing the same official announcement, reported the project as a second west-east route to Fujairah alongside the UAE’s existing export infrastructure. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) The move ties a long-running infrastructure goal to a more immediate shipping disruption. UAE officials and ADNOC executives have repeatedly called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, saying interference with navigation has hit energy flows and broader trade. ### Which pipeline is being accelerated, and what would it do? (mediaoffice.abudhabi) The new West-East Pipeline would carry Abu Dhabi crude to Fujairah, where cargoes can load outside the Strait of Hormuz. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the project will double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah once it enters service in 2027. Fujairah already hosts the UAE’s main oil outlet on the Gulf of Oman. Reuters reported the country’s existing Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, also known as the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) CNBC described that line as the only current UAE pipeline route that avoids the strait. ### Why does routing crude through Fujairah matter now? (wam.ae) The Strait of Hormuz has been severely constrained in recent weeks, according to UAE officials and ADNOC statements. On May 1, Minister of State Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar told the U.N. Security Council that the UAE wanted the “immediate and unconditional reopening” of the waterway and said obstruction of navigation was already affecting energy security, supply chains and food and fertilizer trade. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC’s managing director and group chief executive, said on March 23 that the strait carries about 20 million barrels a day of oil and gas and that disruption there had pushed oil prices up by 50% in three weeks. His remarks were part of a broader UAE campaign to frame uninterrupted transit through Hormuz as a global economic issue. (nbcnews.com) ### How much new export capacity is at stake? The clearest figure in the official announcement is “double.” The Abu Dhabi Media Office did not publish a barrel-per-day target for the new line in the material reviewed by Reuters and other outlets, but it said the project would double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah. (wam.ae) The existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline’s capacity of up to 1.8 million barrels a day offers the closest public benchmark now available. If the new project adds a similar amount, that would imply a major increase in bypass capacity, though ADNOC has not publicly stated that figure in the latest announcement. ### Did ADNOC tie the pipeline to a broader spending push? (adnoc.ae) ADNOC said on May 3 it was accelerating growth and delivery of its strategy with AED200 billion, or about $55 billion, in new project awards for 2026-2028. The company said those awards would support its five-year capital expenditure plan approved in 2025 and drive project execution across its value chain. (mediaoffice.abudhabi) The May 15 board committee meeting did not assign a separate cost to the west-east pipeline in the public statement. The announcement instead placed the pipeline alongside ADNOC’s wider expansion plans and its stated aim of meeting global energy demand. (nbcnews.com) ### What should readers watch next? The next concrete milestone is 2027, when the Abu Dhabi Media Office says the West-East Pipeline is expected to become operational. ADNOC’s near-term execution plans are likely to surface through contract awards and project updates tied to its 2026-2028 spending program. (mediaoffice.abudhabi 1) (mediaoffice.abudhabi 2)