{"id":2269,"date":"2026-06-18T06:39:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2026-06-18T06:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:39:24","slug":"gulf-exporters-quest-to-bypass-hormuz-will-reshape-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2269","title":{"rendered":"Gulf exporters&#8217; quest to bypass Hormuz will reshape the region"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div><ul><li>Companies<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div><ul><li><svg><\/svg><div><div><div><button><span><span>Follow<\/span><\/span><\/button><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div>LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) &#8211; Middle East oil producers face a reckoning. The Iran war exposed the dangers of relying on a single chokepoint for vital oil and gas exports, leaving Gulf governments with a clear strategic imperative: diversify \u2013 at all costs.<\/div><div>An Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had long been viewed as a \u201cDoomsday\u201d event that would never \u200bhappen. Experts assumed it would require a massive military effort and that Tehran would be reluctant to choke off its own exports.<\/div><div>Those assumptions were proven painfully wrong. Iran imposed \u200ca near-airtight blockade using cheap drones, small vessels and mines, while continuing to export its own oil, at least until the U.S. Navy imposed its own blockade on Iranian shipping.<\/div><div>This stranded a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, triggering unprecedented turmoil across the region\u2019s vast energy industry, with repercussions felt worldwide.<\/div><div>Countries lost vital export revenues and were forced to shut down around 11 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production, along with multiple refineries and LNG facilities.<\/div><div>While \u200bWashington and Tehran have agreed to negotiate a permanent peace deal, the \u201cHormuz genie\u201d cannot be put back into the bottle. Future closures are now a real and persistent risk for the region \u200band the global economy.<\/div><div>As a result, developing alternative routes for exports of energy, chemicals and fertiliser has become a matter of economic survival for Gulf nations.<\/div><h2>PIPELINE \u2060DREAMS<\/h2><div>Saudi Arabia offers the clearest example of the benefits of building pipelines that circumvent Hormuz.<\/div><div>Before the war, the world&#8217;s largest oil exporter diverted around 60% of its shipments to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, using \u200ba cross-country pipeline from the Gulf coast. State-owned Saudi Aramco (2222.SE)<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span> built the 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) route in the 1980s precisely to hedge against this type of scenario.<\/div><div>That strategic foresight paid off.<\/div><div>The International Monetary Fund said in April that it expects Saudi \u200bArabia\u2019s economy to grow by 3.1% in 2026, down just 1.4 percentage points from its pre-war forecast.<\/div><div>By contrast, Qatar, which had no alternative routes for its oil and LNG exports, could see its economy contract by 8.6% this year, after growing by 2.8% in 2025, according to the IMF.<\/div><div>Other regional players have taken note.<\/div><div>The United Arab Emirates was able to partially bypass Hormuz using its pipeline to the Fujairah oil terminal, located just outside the Strait. Fujairah was disrupted after it came \u200bunder Iranian fire, but the UAE was still able to export around 1.8 million bpd, roughly half of its pre-war output.<\/div><div>Abu Dhabi, which left OPEC in May to pursue an ambitious growth strategy, is now accelerating construction of a \u200bsecond pipeline to double export capacity via Fujairah by 2027.<\/div><div>Iraq remains in an unenviable position. It is heavily reliant on Hormuz because most of its production is concentrated in the south. Authorities and companies operating in Iraq are \u200cthus examining \u2060ways to upgrade and expand northern export routes through Turkey and Syria. However, security and political concerns remain significant obstacles.<\/div><h2>THE QATARI CONUNDRUM<\/h2><div>Qatar and Kuwait face a far more complex challenge. Lacking alternative export routes within their own territories, both countries will effectively be forced to rely on neighbours to circumvent Hormuz.<\/div><div>The predicament is especially acute for Qatar, the world\u2019s leading LNG exporter. To gain access beyond the Strait, the emirate would need to build a pipeline through the UAE to Fujairah or Oman, or across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea. Each option is fraught with geopolitical and commercial complications.<\/div><div>Such projects would likely require constructing new liquefaction \u200bcapacity outside the Gulf, driving costs sharply higher.<\/div><div>Taking \u200bthis route would also leave Qatar heavily dependent \u2060on Saudi Arabia or the UAE &#8211; countries whose relations with Doha have been strained in recent years. This creates political and strategic risks that the country has long sought to avoid.<\/div><div>Kuwait faces a similar dilemma. Developing alternative export routes would almost certainly require deepening energy integration with Saudi Arabia, further underscoring how \u200bgeography may reshape regional alliances moving forward.<\/div><h2>OVERSEAS DIVERSIFICATION<\/h2><div>Another response gaining traction is geographic diversification beyond the Middle East.<\/div><div>Gulf national oil companies are increasingly looking to \u200bexpand overseas operations, effectively creating \u2060a hedge against future regional disruption. QatarEnergy and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have led the way, building international portfolios spanning oil, gas and renewables.<\/div><div>This trend is now apt to accelerate. Acquiring stakes in upstream assets, refineries, LNG facilities and storage terminals abroad would provide valuable income streams that are insulated from Gulf risk. In a world where Hormuz can no longer be taken for granted, such investments offer the promise not just of growth, but \u2060also resilience.<\/div><div>As Middle \u200bEast producers begin the gradual recovery process, the race for diversification will reshuffle international alliances, shake up long-term government strategy and \u200bredirect investment. In other words, it could reshape the region for decades to come.<\/div><div>(The opinions expressed here are those of Ron Bousso, a columnist for Reuters.)<\/div><div>Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI),<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span> your essential new source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn,<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span> and X.<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span><\/div><div>And \u200blisten to the Morning Bid daily podcast on Apple<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span>, Spotify<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span>, or the Reuters app<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span>. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.<\/div><div>Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.<\/div><div><address><div><div><noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" alt=\"Ron Bousso\" class=\"wp-image-954\" src=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/134af44cad560060d1da703cd580ff3d.avif\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div><div>Ron Bousso<\/div><\/div><div><ul><li><span><div><svg><title>Email<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>X<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>Linkedin<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/address><\/div><\/div><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2267\">Exclusive: Thailand revives $30 bln coast-to-coast corridor to rival Malacca Strait<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2265\">Japan vows to act \u2018any time\u2019 on yen as markets brace for intervention<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2262\">Morning Bid: Warsh debut raises rate-hike stakes<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Middle East oil producers face a reckoning. The Iran war exposed the dangers of relying on a single chokepoint for vital oil and gas exports, leaving Gulf governments with a clear strategic imperative: diversify \u2013 at all costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,124,66],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-lng","tag-opec","tag-roi-reuters-open-interest"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gulf exporters&#039; quest to bypass Hormuz will reshape the region - Reliable Moving Crews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2269\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gulf exporters&#039; quest to bypass Hormuz will reshape the region - Reliable Moving Crews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Middle East oil producers face a reckoning. 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