Gulf Nations Race to Build Pipelines to Bypass Strait of Hormuz
The renewed push reflects mounting anxiety that sustained Iranian influence over — or deliberate disruption of — the strait could leave Gulf exporters dangerously exposed, compelling both government officials and senior industry figures to dust off infrastructure plans previously dismissed as prohibitively expensive or logistically unworkable.
Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline has emerged as the immediate focal point of that debate. The 1,200-kilometer artery, which channels crude westward to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and enables exports to completely skirt Hormuz, has been recast almost overnight as a strategic masterstroke. One senior Gulf energy executive told media the route now looks "like a genius masterstroke" in retrospect.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser reinforced that assessment, confirming the line is the "main route that we are capitalizing on right now," as Riyadh deliberates over whether to expand its throughput capacity or develop additional export terminals along the Red Sea coastline.
Looking further ahead, the media report outlined the possibility of sweeping trade corridors linking India, the Gulf, and Europe, with several executives asserting that pipelines reaching Mediterranean outlets will ultimately be constructed. NewMed Energy CEO Yossi Abu of Israel framed the ambition in geopolitical terms, saying: "People need to control their own destinies, with their friends."
However, the path forward is riddled with formidable barriers. Christopher Bush, CEO of Beirut-based Cat Group, cautioned that reconstructing Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline from scratch today would demand at least $5 billion, while more intricate routes threading through Iraq, Jordan, Syria, or Türkiye could carry price tags of $15 billion to $20 billion.
Bush flagged persistent security hazards across Iraq — including unexploded ordnance and active militant activity — as well as punishing engineering demands posed by desert and mountainous terrain on any corridor toward Oman. He further warned that unresolved political disputes over pipeline ownership, operational control, and flow rights would cloud any attempt at a regional network.
In the near term, the most viable path likely involves expanding existing infrastructure — namely Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and Abu Dhabi's export route to Fujairah — rather than pursuing costly cross-border greenfield projects. Bush noted that the calculus among policymakers has shifted dramatically, saying: "You have a lot of smart minds looking at all of this now. It is a big problem."
The urgency is not without cause. On March 2, Iran announced restrictions on navigation through the strategic waterway, warning it reserved the right to target vessels transiting without prior coordination. The US-Israel war with Iran and the resulting spike in shipping and insurance costs have already contributed to upward pressure on global oil prices, with the strait's fragility now firmly back at the center of the energy security debate.
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