The United Arab Emirates is seeking to completely eliminate its reliance in the Strait of Hormuz to export energy following the war in Iran, a top official said.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said the country is "moving toward having zero Hormuz dependency and that's regardless of whether it's open or not."
"It's going to open and we hope that will happen quickly, but we will not stop the new plan," he added, in reference to the agreement between the U.S. and Iran to cease hostilities and reopen the key waterway.
Gulf countries saw their ability to export energy and other goods severely hampered during the war as a result Iran's blockade of the strait.
The UAE began intensifying plans to expand a key pipeline and reduce its dependence of the strait while the war was ongoing.
The country said last month that the pipeline it's expanding to better bypass the waterway was almost halfway complete after accelerating construction.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, announced the development in an interview with the Atlantic Council, saying "right now, too much of the world's energy still moves through too few chokepoints."
The pipeline will double the country's export capacity through the Fujairah port, which is located on the Gulf of Oman beyond the Strait of Hormuz. It is expected to become operational next year. The country is also expanding the ports of Dibba and Khor Fakkan, which are located just outside the strait on the Gulf of Oman coast. It will also build at least one new harbor on the same coastline, as well as rail and road networks and a third new pipeline.
Reuters detailed that the existing pipeline can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day. The new maximum capacity would be almost double, above 3.5 million. The UAE is one of the two only countries with active pipelines allowing for substantial exports not involving tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq also said it is intensifying similar plans. CNBC noted earlier this omnth that the Iraqi cabinet approved plans to accelerate exports through its Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline network, potentially increasing shipments from about 220,000 barrels a day to some 770,000.
The country said in mid-May that it had exported some 10 million barrels of oil through the waterway in April, down from the 93 million before the war began.
