{"id":1966,"date":"2026-07-23T08:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2026-07-23T08:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:09:37","slug":"mideast-oil-producers-step-up-plans-to-bypass-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1966","title":{"rendered":"Mideast oil producers step up plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Before the war in Iran<\/span>, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz<\/span>. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait.<\/p>\n

Read more Houthis say they attacked 2 Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as US carries out 12th night of strikes<\/a><\/p>\n

As Iran\u2019s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge<\/span>, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines enabling them to redirect more supplies to ports along the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n

At least seven major pipeline projects are under construction, in the planning stage or being discussed as possibilities, according to government officials, oil companies and analysts.<\/p>\n

Even alternatives to Hormuz<\/span> can become vulnerable, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have shown this week with a stated blockade on Saudi-linked vessels attempting to transit the Red Sea. But the war has been a wake-up call for Gulf oil producers, who are determined to become less dependent on a transit point that hugs Iran\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

Some alternative routes will take the oil on longer and more expensive paths to market. Regardless, relying so heavily on the Strait of Hormuz \u201cis no longer a prudent long-term strategy,\u201d said Victoria Grabenw\u00f6ger, a senior researcher at the data and analysis firm Kpler.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Red Sea and Gulf of Oman have become vital alternatives to Hormuz<\/h2>\n

The effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would have been an even greater shock to the world economy were it not for a pipeline Saudi Arabia built in the 1980s amid fears that Tehran would disrupt shipping through the strait during the Iran-Iraq war.<\/p>\n

The Saudis\u2019 East-West pipeline carries oil across the desert nation from a processing facility in Abqaiq to the city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. Once there, it is loaded onto tankers that head either south to the Arabian Sea or north to the Suez Canal. <\/p>\n

The United Arab Emirates has been sending more oil to the port of Fujairah, which abuts the Gulf of Oman, about 145 kilometers (85 miles) south of Hormuz. <\/p>\n

Combined, the two pipelines had spare capacity of about 3.5 million to 5.5 million barrels per day before the war began, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. The two pipelines are now running near full capacity.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More oil could begin flowing through a UAE port by next year<\/h2>\n

The state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE\u2019s seven emirates, is accelerating construction of a $3 billion, 300-kilometer (200-mile) pipeline to Fujairah. That pipeline, which will run parallel to an existing one, aims to increase oil supplied to Fujairah by more than 1.2 million barrels a day. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The project, which started before the war, is now reportedly about half-way completed, according to Kpler. The pipeline is intended to be completed by early 2027, but Kpler says mid-2027 is more likely given the need to expand the port at Fujairah.<\/p>\n

The ambitious timeline \u201chas only become feasible against the backdrop of the Strait of Hormuz blockade,\u201d Kpler\u2019s Grabenw\u00f6ger said.<\/p>\n

Read more Nicaragua\u2019s parliament moves to abolish elections under Ortega\u2019s order, fueling criticisms<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n
\nSign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong>
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n