The UAE is fast-tracking new pipelines and port capacity on its eastern coast to keep oil flowing without crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Monday the UAE's energy exports and trade will not be caught up in the six-month US-Iran war, which has already seen Iran fire missiles at the UAE and strike tankers in the strait.
The United Arab Emirates is building alternative routes for its energy exports and trade to keep them out of reach of the war between the US and Iran, Gargash told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Tehran has fired missiles at the UAE and attacked its oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict.
Gargash: exports will not be held hostage
According to Reuters: "Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity". Gargash added that relations with Iran could eventually recover, but warned that rebuilding trust after the attacks could take decades. He also criticized Gulf Arab states for failing to mount a coordinated response to Iran.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, echoed the concern at the same forum, saying Gulf Arab countries should not rely solely on their strategic partnership with the US for security. Gargash agreed that the partnership remains essential, but said the conflict has exposed the importance of national capabilities.
Pipeline capacity set to double by 2027
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is building a new West-East pipeline that aims to double Fujairah's export capacity to roughly 3.6 million barrels per day by 2027, a project that was 50% complete as of May. The existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline already carries 1.8 million bpd from Abu Dhabi's inland fields to the port of Fujairah, bypassing the strait entirely.
That bypass infrastructure sustained roughly half of the UAE's pre-conflict export volume of about 3.4 million bpd once the conflict disrupted shipping. In August, the UAE suspended all financial transactions with Iran, one of the most significant escalations in bilateral relations in years.
Hormuz remains the sticking point
Iran followed through on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that once carried a fifth of global energy supplies, sending energy prices soaring and sparking a global economic crisis. The strait's status remains a central obstacle in talks between Washington and Tehran, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, with Iran claiming the waterway belongs to Iran and Oman, a position Gulf states broadly reject.
The conflict, sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, remains deadlocked after a preliminary ceasefire reached in June unraveled. Gargash said any long-term resolution must include credible guarantees against further Iranian attacks on Gulf Arab states, calling freedom of navigation a principle that cannot be renegotiated under pressure.
Sources: Commodities & Futures News, Crypto Briefing
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