UAE's second Hormuz bypass pipeline reaches near-50% completion as ADNOC targets 2027 startup
ADNOC's West-East expansion will double Fujairah export capacity to ease an 11-week Hormuz blockade that has throttled Gulf crude flows.
ADNOC's new West-East crude pipeline, built to route exports around the Strait of Hormuz, is now nearly 50 percent complete, CEO Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said on Thursday (2026-05-21), with the company targeting full operation by 2027.4
The blockade of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of oil and seaborne gas flowed before the Iran war, is approaching its 11th week, pushing energy prices higher and squeezing Gulf economies. ICE Brent crude front-month traded at $87.26/bbl as of Tuesday (2026-08-11) at 13:52 UTC, with WTI front-month at $81.58/bbl at the same timestamp.2,1
The fast-tracked expansion will double the UAE's export capacity through the Gulf of Oman port of Fujairah, adding to the existing Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline — the Habshan-Fujairah line — which can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day and has proved crucial since the blockade began.3
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed led a review of expansion plans at the Executive Committee of ADNOC's board, with the Abu Dhabi Media Office announcing the accelerated timeline on Friday (2026-05-15). The Crown Prince's direct involvement reflects the urgency the UAE government has attached to moving barrels through an alternative corridor.3,5
Saudi Arabia has moved faster. Aramco ramped its own bypass pipeline capacity to 7 million barrels per day in eight days, according to Zawya, keeping about 60 percent of the kingdom's pre-war exports flowing.3 The UAE is now seeking to close its own bypass gap. ADNOC is targeting 5 million bpd of bypass capacity by next year, a goal brought forward by three years. The UAE's energy minister told Reuters last year the country could boost output capacity to 6 million bpd if necessary.3
Every barrel loaded at Fujairah avoids the strait entirely, sidestepping the insurance surcharges, war-risk premiums and threat of Iranian interdiction that have made strait-dependent loadings scarce. The existing 1.8 million bpd ADCOP is a fraction of the UAE's roughly 3.5 million bpd export requirement. Doubling bypass capacity would close most of that gap.3
But the 2027 timeline carries execution risk. Construction requires onshore and marine work through the rugged terrain between Habshan and Fujairah, and the schedule assumes no escalation in a conflict already running nearly three months.5 In late July (2026-07-29), Dutch offshore contractor Allseas secured a separate subsea pipeline installation deal for Western LNG's Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project in northwest Canada, pointing to rising global demand for offshore pipe-laying capacity that could compete with Gulf projects.6
That tightening of installation resources is a quiet constraint on schedule certainty. The UAE is not the only buyer hunting vessel time.6
ICE Brent front-month slipped 0.69 percent and WTI front-month fell 1.07 percent to $81.58/bbl as of Tuesday (2026-08-11) at 13:52 UTC, moves consistent with traders beginning to price in growing bypass capacity across the Gulf rather than sustained supply destruction. Gold held near $4,391/oz and the VIX sat at 15.52 as of the same timestamp, suggesting residual risk aversion without acute panic.1
The next concrete signal is a construction progress update from ADNOC. Confirmation of mechanical completion by mid-2027 would give buyers a credible exit from strait-dependent pricing. A delay, or any deepening of the conflict before that milestone, keeps the pressure on Gulf crude supply chains and leaves every extra week of construction as an open variable in an already strained market.4,2