UAE accelerates second oil pipeline to bypass Hormuz

H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on May 15 directed ADNOC to accelerate delivery of the UAE’s new West-East Pipeline project, according to the state news agency WAM. The pipeline is under construction and is expected to become operational in 2027, WAM said after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the ADNOC Board of Directors in Abu Dhabi. The project will double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah, the emirate on the Gulf of Oman that gives the UAE an outlet outside the Strait of Hormuz. The order came after weeks of official UAE statements condemning attacks on shipping and what Abu Dhabi described as the effective closure of the strait. ### Which UAE official made the decision, and where was it announced? WAM said Sheikh Khaled, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, chaired the ADNOC Executive Committee meeting at the company’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi on May 15. During that meeting, he was briefed on the West-East Pipeline project and directed ADNOC to speed up delivery. (wam.ae) The same WAM report said those attending included ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, and other senior Abu Dhabi officials. ### What exactly is the pipeline meant to do? WAM said the new West-East Pipeline project will double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah. (wam.ae) ADNOC says its existing Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, owned by ADCOP, runs about 406 km from an ADNOC Onshore collection center in Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah oil export terminal, providing access to international shipping routes outside the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said the UAE is one of only two Gulf producers with operating pipelines that can circumvent the strait. EIA said increased day-to-day use of the existing Fujairah route had limited the spare capacity available to reroute additional volumes around Hormuz. ### Why is Fujairah central to this plan? Fujairah sits on the Gulf of Oman rather than inside the Persian Gulf, allowing tankers loaded there to avoid passing through the Strait of Hormuz. (wam.ae) ADNOC says the current pipeline to Fujairah is a key asset for the UAE’s oil export system because it links inland production to an export terminal with access to international shipping routes. (eia.gov) The location has long mattered to the UAE’s export strategy. EIA said the Habshan-Fujairah route was built to allow crude shipments to circumvent Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil transit chokepoints. ### What recent events did UAE officials cite around Hormuz? The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on May 4 that two drones targeted an ADNOC-affiliated national carrier while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported. (adnoc.ae) The ministry called the attack a violation of international law and said Iran should halt attacks and ensure the complete and unconditional reopening of the strait. (eia.gov) A separate WAM statement published May 15 said the International Maritime Organization’s Legal Committee had condemned what the UAE described as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, along with attacks and threats against vessels in the region. The committee decision, as described by WAM, also condemned threats related to mines and a reported toll system on vessels passing through the strait. (wam.ae) ### How much bypass capacity does the UAE already have? ADNOC says ADCOP owns the existing 406-km crude pipeline from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. EIA and ADNOC materials describe that route as the UAE’s main overland bypass for crude exports outside Hormuz. Publicly available descriptions of the existing line put capacity at about 1.5 million barrels per day, with some reports citing design capacity closer to 1.8 million barrels per day. (wam.ae) WAM did not give a barrels-per-day figure for the new project in its May 15 statement, and it did not disclose the previous completion timetable before Sheikh Khaled ordered acceleration. ### What comes next before 2027? (adnoc.ae) WAM said the project is already under construction and expected to become operational in 2027. The May 15 statement did not name a contractor, set out a revised budget, or give a more specific commissioning date. The next public milestone is likely to come from ADNOC or Abu Dhabi’s media office as work advances on the West-East Pipeline project toward the 2027 start-up date cited by WAM. (eia.gov) (wam.ae)