Dubai: An oil pipeline that will bypass the strategic Straights of Hormuz will be ready to go online soon.
On Monday, state news agency WAM quoted the Minister of Energy as saying that the pipeline will be ready in May or June.
The commissioning of the $3.3-billion (Dh12.11 billion) Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline will take place within a month, a top-ranking oil industry source told Gulf News on Sunda.
“The pipeline will be ready to export crude oil a few months down the line, post-comissioning,” said the source.
The commissioning of the pipeline was scheduled to take place late last year. However, delay in material deliveries and construction-related issues pushed the deadline, the source added.
The commissioning of the pipeline will be a game changer in crude oil transportation as it will give Abu Dhabi direct access to the Indian Ocean for its oil exports and the option of bypassing the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Abu Dhabi would get access to an open sea — that’s the strategic advantage the new pipeline provides.
The Strait of Hormuz handles 40 per cent of the world’s seaborne oil.
The new pipeline will ensure safe flow of the UAE’s crude oil exports in the event of any disturbance in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been threatening to choke of late.
According to experts, the new pipeline will also lower shipping costs for the UAE’s oil exports, as shippers charge a premium due to the war risk for entering the Strait of Hormuz.
