Gulf Oil Giants Build Billion-Dollar Bypass Around Strait of Hormuz
Source: NYT > Business (paywall)
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf producers are investing heavily in pipelines and infrastructure to export oil and gas without transiting the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint through which roughly 30% of global maritime oil passes and which Iran can theoretically blockade. The Houthis' shipping attacks, regional tensions, and buyer and investor concerns about geopolitical risk to a single corridor have driven a structural pivot in energy logistics. The shift redirects capital flows away from maritime shipping hubs and toward landlocked pipeline networks, altering Middle Eastern infrastructure competition and tightening Saudi-UAE coordination while reducing Iran's leverage over global energy markets.