Among them are two Iraqi pipelines… Arab countries are betting on six oil routes away from the Strait of Hormuz
Among them are two Iraqi pipelines… Arab countries are betting on six oil routes away from the Strait of Hormuz
2026-08-30
Shafaq News – Follow-up
Arab countries have increasingly placed their bets on six oil pipelines to ensure the flow of their exports away from the Strait of Hormuz, including routes that are currently operational and others that are in the planning and development stages.
According to a report issued by the Energy Research Unit (based in Washington), the region includes 3 pipelines already operating in exporting Arab oil outside the Strait: the Saudi “East-West”, the Emirati “Habshan-Fujairah”, and the Iraqi-Turkish “Kirkuk-Ceyhan”.
Future plans also include 3 other announced or under-development line projects: Kirkuk – Banias (Iraq), West-East (UAE), and Ras Markaz (Oman).
Saudi Arabia tops the list of capacity via the “East-West” pipeline, which has the largest operational capacity among the pipelines operating and proposed in the region, followed by the pipelines in the UAE and Iraq.
However, the quantities transported through these pipelines vary and fluctuate annually, as most of them operate as an alternative route during times of crisis and not permanently under normal circumstances.
Saudi East-West Line
The Saudi East-West pipeline played a pivotal role in enabling the Kingdom to overcome the shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz resulting from the Iranian military escalation in late February 2026.
Saudi Arabia built this pipeline, known as Petroline, in the 1980s as a precaution against the disruption of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline connects oil fields and processing facilities in the Eastern Province (Abqaiq) to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, with a capacity of up to 7 million barrels per day.
Through this route, Riyadh succeeded in diverting a large part of its oil exports to Asian markets away from the Strait. Ship tracking data collected by Bloomberg showed that exports through the port of Yanbu rose from 700,000 barrels per day on March 5, 2026 to 3.4 million barrels per day on March 17, before reaching 4.1 million barrels per day by the 20th of the same month.
Overall, the Kingdom maintained an average of exports exceeding 5 million barrels per day during the first seven months of 2026, compared to 5.9 million barrels per day for the same period last year.
UAE’s “Habshan – Fujairah” route
The UAE owns the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, which was built between 2008 and 2012 to avoid navigation disruptions in the strait.
The 370-kilometer pipeline connects Abu Dhabi’s onshore fields with the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, with a capacity of between 1.5 and 1.8 million barrels per day, allowing more than half of Abu Dhabi’s exports of about 3.5 million barrels per day to be transported directly to the Indian Ocean.
Iraqi-Turkish Kirkuk-Ceyhan railway line
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline stretches 970 kilometers, connecting the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. Although classified as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, it is limited to transporting oil from the northern fields, which constitute only 10% of Iraq’s exports, while the remainder of exports rely on the southern ports in Basra.
The pipeline (consisting of two pipes) has a maximum design capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day, but its operational capacity reached 500,000 barrels per day before it was shut down in 2023 following an international arbitration decision that obliged Turkey to pay compensation to Baghdad amounting to $1.5 billion.
Regional developments contributed to accelerating the restart negotiations, as the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced on March 18, 2026 the resumption of exports via the pipeline with a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.
Iraq and Turkey also signed a new agreement in early August 2026 to extend the operation of the pipeline for a year, raising the export ceiling to 750,000 barrels per day in preparation for a new agreement aimed at reaching the maximum capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day.
Kirkuk-Banias Project
Among the proposed projects, Iraq seeks to revive the “Kirkuk-Banias” line connecting to Syria to expand export outlets, a line that went out of service after sustaining damage in 2003.
The proposed route for the project extends 1,520 kilometers from the Basra and Haditha fields to the Syrian port of Banias on the Mediterranean Sea, with the possibility of linking it with negotiated branches towards Turkish territory and the port of Ceyhan.
shafaq.com
