Can Pipelines Bypass the Strait of Hormuz?

Saudi Arabia's Petroline runs from the Abqaiq oil processing facility in the Eastern Province to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea coast. It is the largest Hormuz bypass pipeline and was originally built during the Iran-Iraq War precisely to reduce dependence on the strait.

The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) runs from the Habshan gas processing complex in Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah export terminal on the Gulf of Oman — just outside the Strait of Hormuz. It was built explicitly as a strategic bypass.

Iraq's Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline runs from the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq through southeastern Turkey to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. It provides Iraq's only significant export route that doesn't transit the Persian Gulf.

What About LNG? No Pipeline Option

While crude oil has limited pipeline bypass options, liquefied natural gas has none. Qatar — the world's largest LNG exporter — has no pipeline connecting it to any terminal outside the Persian Gulf. Every cubic meter of Qatari LNG must transit the Strait of Hormuz by ship.

Building an LNG pipeline is impractical: LNG must be kept at -162°C, making long-distance pipelines prohibitively expensive compared to tanker transport. This means roughly 25% of global LNG trade has zero bypass option during a Hormuz closure.

Pipeline Bypass Summary

Even at full theoretical capacity, these pipelines can replace less than 40% of what flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain have no pipeline bypass options. The conclusion is clear: pipelines reduce vulnerability but cannot eliminate dependence on the strait.