The United Arab Emirates intends to accelerate construction of a new oil pipeline that will double the country's export capacity through the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman. According to Reuters, citing the Abu Dhabi government press office, the pipeline is scheduled to launch in 2027.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed has instructed ADNOC to expedite the West-East Pipeline project. The project is currently under construction.

The decision to expedite the project was made amid the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, which closed this strategic seaway in response to the US and Israeli military campaign that began on February 28, 2026. The strait, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil supplies. Its closure led to a sharp spike in energy prices and forced some countries to impose fuel rationing.

The existing Abu Dhabi-Adcop (Habshan-Fujairah) pipeline has a capacity of up to 1,8 million barrels of crude oil per day. Under current conditions, it is the main alternative to maritime transport, allowing oil to be exported directly from the port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the conflict zone.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia remain the only producers in the Persian Gulf region with pipeline infrastructure to export oil that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, countries such as Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain rely almost entirely on this shipping route.

It's worth noting that the decision to expedite construction of the new pipeline followed the UAE's withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) two weeks earlier. This move freed the emirates from oil production quotas. ADNEC plans to increase production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by next year—three years ahead of its original schedule. If necessary, the country can increase production to 6 million barrels per day. Before the war, in January 2026, the UAE was producing approximately 3,4 million barrels per day, but after the strait's closure, production fell by more than half.