UAE Bypasses Hormuz Blockage with Creative Oil Export Strategies

The United Arab Emirates has successfully maintained its oil exports at pre-crisis levels as early as June, despite the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz. According to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the UAE shipped more crude oil out of the Strait than any other Gulf producer in June and July.

To bypass the chokepoint, the UAE has been using various workarounds, including shipping crude through the Strait in 'dark mode' and maximizing the use of its onshore pipeline to ship crude from the west to the east of the country. This has allowed the UAE to export oil even when tankers were unable to pass through the Strait.

ADNOC issued an unprecedented number of tenders to sell cargoes of millions of barrels of crude oil in recent weeks, with seven tenders offered since June. The company is offering cargo loadings from various ports inside and outside the Persian Gulf, as well as ship-to-ship transfers offshore Fujairah or Malaysia.

The UAE's crude oil production jumped to 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, its highest output ever, after the country left OPEC effective May 1 and started raising output.