FT: Gulf States Want To Build Oil Pipelines To Bypass Strait Of Hormuz

• 2.04.2026, 14:00

Details of the ambitious project have become known.

The Persian Gulf countries are considering building new oil pipelines that would allow them to transport oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The Financial Times reports.

The publication's sources said the new pipelines could be the only way to reduce the region's dependence on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

At the same time, implementing such projects would be politically difficult, expensive and take years, a senior energy-related official said.

The conflict in the Middle East has underscored the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia's 1,200-kilometer-long East-West pipeline, built in the 1980s after fears of the strait being closed during the Iran-Iraq war.

Today it transports about 7 million barrels of oil per day to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, completely bypassing Hormuz.

The Saudi leadership is considering increasing exports through pipelines, including expanding existing infrastructure or building new routes. Previously, such projects were repeatedly halted due to high cost and complexity, but now the mood in the region has changed and discussions are moving from theory to practice.

Experts believe that the most effective solution may be to create a network of pipelines, although this is the most difficult option.

In the long term, new pipelines could become part of wider trade routes to transport various goods, not just energy.

The possible options include reinstating the project t