The United Arab Emirates has managed to export from the Gulf at least 6 million barrels of oil through the national energy company ADNOC, using ships that pass through the Strait of Hormuz with their transponders disabled, in order to avoid Iranian attacks and overcome obstacles from the war in the region. According to industry sources and shipping data cited by Reuters, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other buyers have begun shipping oil through the Strait, which remains constrained due to the Middle East conflict and restrictions imposed by Iran. ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Co) managed to export 4 million barrels from the Upper Zakum field and 2 million barrels from Das, using 4 tankers from terminals in the Gulf.
Despite the fact that these quantities are small compared to the UAE’s typical exports before the US and Israeli war against Iran, this move highlights the risks that producers and buyers face to unblock oil sales and move the market. Other Gulf producers, such as Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, have either stopped their sales or drastically reduced prices to attract interest, or export only through the Red Sea, as Saudi Arabia does, and by road through Syria, as Iraq does.
United Arab Emirates: millions of barrels of oil through dangerous routes
ADNOC has reduced its exports by more than 1 million barrels per day since the start of the war, from the 3.1 million barrels it exported the previous year. Most of this oil is Murban grade, which is exported through pipelines from onshore facilities in Fujairah.
However, this move carries the risk of attacks from Iran. In early May, ADNOC accused Tehran of using drones to attack one of the company’s empty tankers, the Barakah, which was sailing through the Strait.
To reduce the risk of detection by Iranian forces, the tankers travel with their tracking systems disabled. This tactic is typically also used by Iran to circumvent US sanctions on its oil exports.
ADNOC continues to plan exports through these dangerous routes, approaching Asian refiners to supply markets with oil from the Gulf.
Shipping data from Kpler and SynMax shows that ADNOC uses a “ship-to-ship transfer” strategy to split cargoes, allowing tankers to move oil barrels faster and return to the Gulf for new exports.
Despite the difficulties, oil exported from the UAE continues to sell at high prices in the market, with Upper Zakum exports selling at a premium of $20 per barrel compared to ADNOC’s official selling price.
