The UAE is investing billions in eastern-coast ports and pipelines to keep oil exports moving if the Strait of Hormuz becomes a war zone. Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on September 7 at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi that the country is accelerating the infrastructure expansion. ADNOC’s West-East pipeline is intended to double Fujairah’s export capacity to roughly 3.6 million barrels per day by 2027 and was 50% complete as of May. The existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline already moves 1.8 million bpd from Abu Dhabi’s inland fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the strait. That route has maintained about half of the UAE’s pre-conflict exports of approximately 3.4 million bpd during recent disruptions. The strategy also includes expanded port operations at Fujairah, Dibba and Khor Fakkan, railway links and a stated goal of "zero Hormuz dependency." The UAE suspended all financial transactions with Iran in August. If ADNOC meets its target, the country would theoretically be able to preserve its full export capacity regardless of conditions in the strait, strengthening Fujairah’s position as an alternative oil-export hub.