UAE Races to Build Hormuz Bypass Pipeline and Gigascale Storage as Gulf Export Routes Remain Blocked

UAE Races to Build Hormuz Bypass Pipeline and Gigascale Storage as Gulf Export Routes Remain Blocked ADNOC's West-East pipeline is nearly 50% complete while Masdar signs a 7.5 GWh storage deal, accelerating the UAE's energy security pivot. ADNOC's new West-East oil pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is now nearly 50% complete, with construction being accelerated towards a planned 2027 completion. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC's managing director and group CEO, confirmed the timeline during a board review of the expansion plans, which will double crude export capacity through the Fujairah terminal on the Gulf of Oman.^3,7 The urgency is obvious. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked by the Iran conflict, the UAE's entire crude export operation depends on finding routes that do not transit the chokepoint. The Habshan-Fujairah corridor, once a long-term infrastructure project, is now a national priority with top-level backing from Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed.⁷ Alongside the pipeline push, Masdar and Sungrow have signed an agreement for 7.5 GWh of energy storage and photovoltaic inverter technologies to support a gigascale round-the-clock renewable energy project in Abu Dhabi. The scale is striking. At 7.5 GWh, this single project dwarfs most battery deployments globally and signals how seriously the UAE is treating energy self-sufficiency.¹⁰ The battery buildout extends well beyond the Gulf. AMEA Power, a UAE-based developer, has broken ground on a 150 MW / 300 MWh standalone battery energy storage system in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The project, located in the Mirzo-Ulugbek district, features a two-hour storage capacity designed to enhance grid reliability in a market where power supply has long been inconsistent.¹¹ Greece is moving on a smaller scale but faster timeline. Montel reported that the country has connected its first two battery storage systems totalling 16 MW / 32 MWh, with approximately 300 MW more planned to connect this month. Greece aims to bring 650 MW of storage capacity online this year. The Hellenic Association of Energy Storage Systems confirmed the systems are in trial operation.¹ The storage race is being driven partly by data centre demand. Wood Mackenzie reported that Southeast Asian data centre power demand is set to quadruple from 2.6 GW to 10.7 GW between 2025 and 2035, accounting for 3-4% of peak demand by 2035, up from 1% in 2025. That growth requires firm, dispatchable power that intermittent renewables alone cannot provide. Storage fills the gap.⁴ Singapore's conditional awards to import up to 3.4 GW of firmed solar from Indonesia illustrate the scale of cross-border ambition in the region. Mott MacDonald noted the deal could increase the region's installed solar capacity by more than 70%. But the projects face financing hurdles, with subsea cable booking deposits running at 10-20% of cable value and development costs exceeding $60 million per project.⁵ The LNG market reflects the same supply anxiety. Commonwealth LNG's proposed Cameron Parish project in Louisiana is now fully subscribed after Mercuria added 0.5 million tonnes per annum, bringing total offtake to 8.5 mtpa. North and Central America could approve final investment decisions for 12 more LNG export projects this year, comprising 74 million tonnes per year of capacity, according to the Energy Industries Council. Qatari supply disruptions are accelerating FID timelines.^6,8 The European power market is pricing the stress. Montel reported that Italian spot power could soar as high as EUR 320/MWh, more than double current levels, as the Iran war drives gas prices higher. A cold snap would compound the situation.⁹ The Baltic states offer a different lesson. More than a year after desynchronising from the Russian grid to join continental Europe, the Baltic power system has achieved its geopolitical aims, Montel Syspower senior analyst Ljubov Cherney wrote. But the technical work of operating as part of a larger synchronous area continues.² The UAE's dual strategy of building pipeline bypass capacity and deploying gigascale storage amounts to a bet that the Hormuz disruption is not temporary. If the 2027 pipeline completion holds, Abu Dhabi will be the only major Gulf producer with a credible alternative export route. Whether that timeline survives the construction challenges of a wartime Gulf is the risk the market has not yet priced.