The United Arab Emirates is moving decisively to reduce its vulnerability to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, with Abu Dhabi ordering the acceleration of a new pipeline project that would allow hydrocarbon exports to bypass the strategic - and currently disrupted - waterway.
The move is a direct response to the strategic crisis triggered by Iran's control of Hormuz since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic on 28 February © Mena Today
The United Arab Emirates is moving decisively to reduce its vulnerability to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, with Abu Dhabi ordering the acceleration of a new pipeline project that would allow hydrocarbon exports to bypass the strategic - and currently disrupted - waterway.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a directive to state oil giant ADNOC to "accelerate the delivery of the project," according to the official press service, with completion now targeted for 2027.
The move is a direct response to the strategic crisis triggered by Iran's control of Hormuz since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic on 28 February.
The strait, through which approximately one fifth of global hydrocarbon trade normally flows, has become a choke point, disrupting Gulf exports, driving up insurance premiums, stranding tankers and sending oil prices surging.
For the UAE, which has already developed the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), a 370 kilometre overland route to the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing Hormuz entirely, the new pipeline represents a further layer of energy security architecture designed to ensure that Iranian leverage over the strait cannot hold Abu Dhabi's exports hostage.
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