ADNOC Calls Inpex Executive's January Date for Its Second Crude Pipeline Inaccurate

Toshiaki Takimoto, a senior executive vice president at Inpex, told a media briefing on Thursday that ADNOC expected to complete the second pipeline around January, roughly doubling capacity to about 3.6 million barrels per day from about 1.8 million bpd on the existing line. He also said a third pipeline was planned for completion around 2029.

The pipelines matter because they let the UAE move crude from its onshore fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. With shipping around Hormuz disrupted by the conflict with Iran and tanker attacks continuing, export capacity that avoids the strait has become one of the most closely watched variables for the UAE's oil revenue and for buyers in Asia.

ADNOC's statement did not say which parts of Takimoto's remarks it disputed. Neither the January date nor the third line has been confirmed by the company.

The Official Timeline

The most recent public timeline from ADNOC's leadership is later than the one Takimoto gave. In May, Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC's managing director and group chief executive, told the Atlantic Council that the second line was "already 50 percent complete" and that the company was "accelerating delivery toward 2027." He said it would effectively double ADNOC's export capacity through Fujairah.

Estimates of the existing line's capacity also vary. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, which has operated since 2012, has generally been reported at about 1.5 million bpd, below the 1.8 million bpd figure Takimoto gave.

Inpex is a long-standing upstream partner of ADNOC and holds stakes in several of its concessions, including the Upper Zakum offshore field. Takimoto said Inpex might consider backing an expansion of the UAE pipeline system if asked, depending on whether it could secure smooth shipment of crude in which it has an interest. Inpex also signed a 15-year agreement in July to buy liquefied natural gas from ADNOC's Ruwais project.

The disagreement leaves the second line's completion date uncertain. ADNOC's last public target remains delivery in 2027.