The UAE is advancing a plan to eliminate reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for
energy exports, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Sani Al Zeyoudi said. The
country has been routing some crude via existing pipelines to east-coast ports
and, in recent weeks, some tankers have transited the Strait with AIS
transponders switched off. The program centers on major expansion of Gulf of
Oman ports outside the Strait — Diba, Fujairah and Khorfakkan — plus at least
one new port on the same coast, large-scale investment in new pipelines and
upgraded rail and road links to connect eastern ports with the country’s oil and
gas fields and facilities. Abu Dhabi is accelerating a second oil export
pipeline that would double Fujairah’s export capacity, is studying a third
pipeline, and is exploring additional infrastructure for petrochemicals, LNG and
other energy exports.
