TotalEnergies Invests in Major Gulf Bypass Pipelines Amid Hormuz Disruption

TotalEnergies will invest in two major oil pipelines designed to bypass the choked Strait of Hormuz, according to an announcement made Monday by CEO Patrick Pouyanné. The move underscores a global rush to secure alternative export routes as the six-month-long Iran war continues to paralyze a critical maritime chokepoint.

Speaking at the ONS energy conference in Norway, Pouyanné said the company would back Abu Dhabi’s expansion of its Fujairah export route and a planned pipeline carrying Iraqi crude through Syria to the Mediterranean. “We will become partners of the pipeline moving from Baghdad to Syria, but I will also invest in Abu Dhabi, in doubling the Fujairah pipeline,” Pouyanné said, according to Reuters.

The commitment follows Pouyanné's statement two months ago that investment in alternative Gulf export routes had become an “absolute priority” for TotalEnergies. The company has not disclosed its investment amount or stakes in the projects.

The existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline in the United Arab Emirates can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day from Abu Dhabi’s oil fields to the Gulf of Oman, bypassing Hormuz. Abu Dhabi plans to roughly double this bypass capacity by next year. The proposed Iraq-Syria pipeline, a project estimated to cost around $15 billion and take at least four years to complete, would give Iraq a direct Mediterranean export route.

For Bakken producers, these developments represent a significant strategic shift by a global oil major that could influence long-term market dynamics. TotalEnergies' Pouyanné framed the investment as a commercial necessity, stating, “We are today probably the largest trader of oil from Iraq or from Qatar … and it’s clear to me that I need to put a certain amount of equity to invest in an alternative route.”

Before the war, roughly a fifth of global oil supply moved through the Strait of Hormuz. The prolonged disruption has spurred project development "into overdrive," according to the source report. Securing reliable export capacity for Middle Eastern crude is a direct hedge against geopolitical risk that could affect global price volatility and trade flows.

While North Dakota's crude flows primarily via pipeline and rail to U.S. refineries and export terminals, sustained high global prices or supply dislocations stemming from the Hormuz crisis have previously benefited inland producers like those in the Bakken. However, massive new pipeline infrastructure coming online in the Middle East could eventually increase the global supply of waterborne crude competing with U.S. exports, including those sourced from the Williston Basin.

The announcement highlights the intense focus within the industry on securing and diversifying logistics chains, a principle as relevant for Bakken operators reliant on pipelines like the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) as it is for majors like TotalEnergies managing global portfolios.