The 400-km Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline being built by the state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) would provide direct access to the Indian Ocean to carry 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.

The 48-inch diameter pipeline includes a 14-km submarine section, terminal stations, oil storage tanks, and off-shore mooring devices.

The narrow Hormuz strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is in the territorial waters of Iran, Oman, and the UAE, which is a strategic choke point through which about two-fifths of all globally traded oil passes.

An average of around 15 tankers carrying 16.5 to 17 million bpd of crude oil, representing approximately 40-per cent of the world’s seaborne shipments pass through the strait every day, according to the US EIA data.