UAE’s ‘Strait of Hormuz’ under threat

Fujairah, a key port in the United Arab Emirates, was temporarily suspended after a drone attack and fire on Saturday (March 14). However, Reuters reported that the port has since resumed operations.
The port is one of the world’s most important hubs for fueling ships and exporting crude oil and fuel. Due to its oil supply capacity, Fujairah port is considered the UAE’s ‘Strait of Hormuz’. The port has been under threat due to Iranian attacks in response to Israeli and US aggression.

Why Fujairah is important to the world:
According to Kepler, an average of more than 1.7 million barrels of crude oil and refined fuels were exported from the port of Fujairah every day last year. This amount is equivalent to about 1.7 percent of the world’s total daily oil demand.
The port is located in the Gulf of Oman and is approximately 70 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran-Iraq War has further increased the importance of the Port of Fujairah in the global market.
In 2025, the port handled approximately 7.4 million cubic meters (approximately 7.33 million tons) of marine fuel. This makes it the fourth largest marine fuel supply hub in the world, after Singapore, Rotterdam, and Zhoushan, China.

Its importance to the UAE:
Before the war, the UAE produced more than 3.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. The country has a 1.5 million barrel per day pipeline, which allows it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), also known as Habshan-Fujairah, transports oil from Abu Dhabi’s oil fields to the Port of Fujairah. The UAE exports its popular Murban crude grade from here, with Asian countries as its main customers.
With the Strait of Hormuz almost closed, a major disruption at Fujairah port could force OPEC’s third-largest oil producer to reduce or halt production.

Impact on oil and energy markets:
Fujairah Port has a total storage capacity of around 18 million cubic metres, making it one of the world’s largest oil and fuel storage and blending centres.
In the oil industry, ‘blending’ refers to the process of mixing different types of petroleum components to produce a final product of a specific quality, such as petrol or marine fuel. The port is home to operations by some of the world’s leading storage companies, including VTTI, Vital, ADNOC and VOPAC. The Fujairah oil region also has the largest commercial refined fuel storage facility in the Middle East.

Source: Geo News