The Gulf states are considering expanding their oil pipelines beyond the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to bypass dependence on the crucial Persian Gulf waterway for exports, The Financial Times reported on Thursday morning.
One of the main options examined reportedly includes a trade route that would connect the Arabian peninsula with the Mediterranean through the port of Haifa.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia has been the only Gulf state to maintain a steady flow of oil exports amid the war, mainly thanks to the East-West pipeline, which connects its oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and bypasses the Strait.
“In hindsight, the East-West pipeline looks like a genius masterstroke,” a senior Gulf energy executive told FT.
The report mentions that the new projects being considered include not only a new pipeline or the expansion of current infrastructure, but rather the creation of a new network of pipelines, trains, and roads that would allow us to stop relying on the Strait of Hormuz.
Christopher Bush, the chief executive of the Lebanese construction company Cat Group, which was one of the main builders of the Saudi East-West pipeline, confirmed to FT that the company "had inquiries about various pipelines."
India-Saud-Israel project takes force
The main project mentioned in the FT report is the US-led IMEC, which would connect India to the Mediterranean Sea via a network of roads, railways, and pipelines. The main challenge for this plan would be securing Saudi Arabia's agreement to include the port of Haifa as part of the route.
Yossi Abu, the chief executive of Israeli company NewMed Energy, said that the pipes to the Mediterranean were needed for people "to control their own destinies, with their friends."
“You need oil pipelines, railway connectivity throughout the region, onshore, without giving others bottlenecks to choke us,” Abu told FT.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the only solution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis would be to reroute the pipelines to gain easier access to the Mediterranean.
"Long-term solutions include rerouting energy pipelines westward, across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bypassing Iran's geographic choke point," Netanyahu explained in an interview with conservative US media outlet Newsmax.
Netanyahu noted that while a military solution might offer short-term stability, a deal that eliminates the strategic importance of the Strait might be the best route in the long term.