Today's Edition
ALLAN JACOB (ABU DHABI)
The UAE’s quick pivot during the US-Iran conflict boosted its oil exports at “a certain time” that surpassed flows before the war began nine months ago, said Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei on Monday.
New export routes were charted and the country invested in enhancing its oil storage capacity abroad. The country’s shipping fleet also quickly adapted and was better prepared to transport oil through alternative routes.
”I think after this crisis, many companies are going to look, think again, and design, redesign their facilities to be more resilient in the future," Mazrouei said.
Since the conflict began, the UAE has been exporting crude via Fujairah that abuts the Gulf of Oman which lies outside the choppy narrow Strait of Hormuz that has been blockaded by Iran.
US navy ships continue to escort commercial vessels through a route closer to the Oman coastline but companies have been reporting drone and missile attacks.
The minister did not specify when UAE crude supplies rose but a Kpler report said at least "16.5 mbd left the region in September, matching the pre-war average excluding Iran”. It added that 40% of crude shipments bypassed Hormuz, and most crude that crossed the strait changed tankers offshore.
“The UAE sent crude through the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline to Fujairah, where loadings rose from 1.1 mbd to 2.7 mbd,” according to the data analytics company which uses satellite imagery to track marine transport in September.
In June, the UAE’s crude oil and condensate exports rose to a record high, after it left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“Resilience is a big word. And it has layers, from the barrel that you produce to the destination that you take it," the minister said, adding: "You need to be closer to your customers,” Al Mazroui said of the uptick in production and exports.
The UAE, meanwhile, is speeding up work on a second oil pipeline from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. Known as the West-East pipeline, it is expected to be completed in the second half of next year.
It built the 380-km long Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) from Habshan, an oil and gas field in south-western Abu Dhabi, to Fujairah back in 2012.
On Sunday, Fitch forecast Abu Dhabi's oil output to soar to 4.2 million barrels a day next year, which could power its GDP to 15%.
