Land-based oil pipelines a Gulf option to avoid chokepoints in sea lanes
The US-Iranian conflict has once again brought the Middle East’s energy transport network into the spotlight, amid fears of disruptions to strategic sea lanes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, and the potential resulting disturbances to global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies and trade. In response to these risks, Gulf land-based pipelines have emerged as strategic alternatives, enabling the continued flow of exports away from maritime chokepoints.
Speaking to The National, Sasha Voss, an energy analyst at CMC Commodities, part of Marix, said, “A simultaneous closure of the Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz straits would lead to paralysis and severe constriction in actual oil markets.”
Land-based pipelines are increasingly playing a vital role in maintaining the flow of energy exports away from high-risk sea lanes. The Saudi East-West Pipeline and the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline in the UAE stand out as the most important alternative export routes.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Strait of Hormuz recorded oil flows of 20.7 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2025, comprising 15.2 million barrels of crude oil and condensates, and 5.5 million barrels of petroleum products. However, these flows dropped to 14.6 million barrels in the first quarter of 2026 due to the Iran war.
According to data from Kpler, flows rebounded to 7.4 million barrels per day in June, following Saudi Arabia’s redirection of its crude oil through its Red Sea ports.
Total oil flows through the Suez Canal averaged 5.1 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter, including crude oil transported via the canal and through Egypt’s Sumed pipeline. LNG flows through the canal also reached 1.6 billion cubic feet per day during the same period.
If shipping traffic is diverted away from the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal could become congested with additional redirected oil shipments via the Red Sea.
Unlike the Suez Canal, the Sumed pipeline is not a waterway but a land-based route. It extends from the Gulf of Suez to Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea, allowing crude oil to bypass the canal when draft restrictions on tankers or navigational congestion prevent passage. Seventy percent of oil shipped from the Arabian Gulf to Europe passes through the Sumed pipeline.
Saudi Arabia owns the East-West Crude Oil Pipeline, which connects Qatif in the east to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, with a total capacity of approximately 7 million barrels per day. Additionally, a parallel natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline in Saudi Arabia has a capacity of up to 300,000 barrels per day at full operation.
This pipeline has become a vital alternative export route following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, although recent Houthi attacks could reduce flows through the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The Habshan-Fujairah pipeline (West-East Crude Oil Pipeline) is also one of the UAE’s most significant energy projects. Developed by ADNOC, it transports crude oil from the onshore Habshan fields in Abu Dhabi to the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
The 48-inch diameter pipeline spans more than 360 kilometers across UAE territory, with a capacity of up to 1.5 million barrels per day, representing a substantial share of the country’s total oil exports.
