SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The United Arab Emirates is reportedly considering another crude oil pipeline linking Abu Dhabi with Fujairah as the country expands its ability to move oil outside the Strait of Hormuz, although Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has described the reported proposal as inaccurate and speculative.
According to Bloomberg, ADNOC has considered a pipeline connecting the UAE's western production areas with Fujairah on the country's eastern coast.
The proposed route could reportedly accommodate third-party crude shipments, potentially allowing other regional producers to access export infrastructure outside the Strait of Hormuz.
ADNOC, however, described the Bloomberg report as inaccurate and speculative. No final investment decision, construction timetable or formal project approval has been announced.
The UAE already operates the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, also known as the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline.
The approximately 406-kilometer system carries crude from ADNOC's onshore production network in Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah export terminal on the Arabian Sea side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The pipeline has a design capacity of approximately 1.5 million barrels per day.
ADNOC is also advancing construction of a second crude pipeline to Fujairah that is intended to significantly increase export capacity outside the Strait of Hormuz.
ADNOC said in May that the project was about 50% complete and that it was accelerating construction toward a 2027 completion target.
The UAE already has a structural advantage over several Gulf producers because crude can move overland to Fujairah without transiting the Strait of Hormuz. A second pipeline now under construction would expand that capacity further. If the additional pipeline reported by Bloomberg were eventually approved, it would represent a third layer of export redundancy rather than the UAE's first alternative to Hormuz.
Bloomberg reported that ADNOC has discussed the potential pipeline with Asian customers and that some refiners were told crude delivered through the route could potentially be available at Fujairah in early 2027.
Because ADNOC has disputed the report, those discussions should be viewed as reported commercial conversations rather than confirmed project commitments.
The UAE has continued investing in Fujairah and other eastern-coast infrastructure as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz increases the value of export routes that bypass the chokepoint.
OilMonster has previously reported that the UAE's ability to move crude through Fujairah helped it restore exports during periods when Hormuz tanker traffic remained constrained.
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The key development to watch is whether ADNOC or the UAE government formally confirms another pipeline project beyond the existing Habshan-Fujairah system and the second line already under construction.
Until that happens, the reported third pipeline should be treated as a proposal under discussion rather than an approved investment.
Follow OilMonster for developments in Strait of Hormuz shipping, Gulf crude export routes, Fujairah infrastructure and global oil supply.
