CAIRO: The UAE said Thursday that its strategic oil pipeline for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz is complete and exports are expected to start within three months, UAE Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli, said in a press conference in Paris. “The pipeline is complete and now it's being tested,” Hamli said. “It's filled with crude now and exports will start within three months,” he said. “It's important to diversify and ease the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” said the UAE oil minister. The oil flowing through the pipe from Abu Dhabi will be mainly exported by ship but a portion will be used by a refinery at Fujairah, at a rate of 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd). The pipeline is supposed to offer the Gulf oil producer an alternative route out of the narrow strait, which Iran has threatened to block, as US and Europe continue pressure on it to stop its nuclear program.
