Abu Dhabi’s Al Gharbia Pipe Company expects significant supply opportunities as Middle East countries step up plans to build pipelines that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively shut amid the Iran war.
Demand for pipes that carry oil and gas over long distances will rise, said Noritsugu Mifune, acting chief executive of Al Gharbia, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Senaat, Japan’s JFE Steel and Marubeni-Itochu Steel.
“Every country in the region is considering a new pipeline to avoid Hormuz. We expect more demand in future,” he told The National.
Gulf countries and Iraq have unveiled plans to build pipelines to carry crude to global markets as shipping through the strait remains disrupted.
The UAE is expanding the 360km Habshan–Fujairah pipeline, often referred to as the West–East crude oil pipeline, to double its export capacity from the current 1.5 million barrels per day. Iraq and Syria are working together to revive a pipeline that was damaged during the 2003 US-led invasion.
Saudi Arabia, Opec’s biggest oil producer, is also looking at expanding its East-West pipeline to help it supply global markets without going through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the strait “will be a worthless piece of water” in two years, once new pipelines are built that allow Gulf countries to bypass it.
He estimated that up to 70 per cent of the energy that usually passed through the waterway would end up in pipelines.
Al Gharbia has previously supplied pipes to Adnoc’s West–East crude pipeline project and to Iraq’s Majnoon oilfield near Basra, Mr Mifune said. It is in discussions with Adnoc on future pipeline projects, he added.
The company is also looking at manufacturing pipes to transport hydrogen, as countries focus on boosting production of the low-carbon fuel to cut emissions.
Al Gharbia’s pipe production reached about 250,000 tonnes last year, but fell to about 60,000 tonnes this year amid supply chain disruptions and delays to oil and gas projects across the region due to the war. It expects to increase production to 200,000 tonnes next year in anticipation of higher demand.
The company imports the steel plates used to make its pipes from Europe, China, South Korea and Japan, with Fujairah port playing a key role for shipments since the strait’s closure.
A vessel carrying steel for the company has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, the first such shipment since the conflict began, chief commercial officer Junya Kako told a media round-table in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
