Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is expected to complete a second crude oil pipeline by around January 2027, potentially doubling the capacity of its existing onshore pipeline to approximately 3.6 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d), Reuters reported, quoting an executive at Japan’s Inpex.

The new pipeline would add to the existing line’s capacity of approximately 1.8 mmbbl/d, which transports crude oil from inland fields in Abu Dhabi, Inpex Senior Executive Vice President Toshiaki Takimoto said during a media briefing.

However, an ADNOC spokesperson disputed Takimoto’s comments, describing the reported information as inaccurate. The company did not provide further details on the disagreement.

Takimoto also indicated that a third pipeline was planned, with completion expected around 2029. He added that Inpex could consider supporting further pipeline expansion if requested, provided it could help secure uninterrupted shipments of crude oil in which the Japanese company holds an interest.

Japan’s Inpex is a long-standing upstream partner of ADNOC and holds stakes in several of its concessions.

In May 2026, the UAE announced it was accelerating construction of ADNOC’s West-East Pipeline project, targeting operations in 2027. The project is intended to double the company’s crude oil export capacity through Fujairah, according to Reuters reporting at the time.

In September, the UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said that the country is expanding ports, pipelines, railways, and alternative trade corridors to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz and safeguard energy exports and trade amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict

The UAE already operates a vital oil-export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Operated by ADNOC, the 360-kilometer Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) carries between 1.5 mmbbl/d and 1.8 mmbl/d of crude per day from the onshore Habshan fields directly to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.