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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to build an oil pipeline network that will transport oil from its main offshore oil processing islands in the Gulf to its onshore crude export terminal in Jebel Dhanna, Abu Dhabi.

The planned pipeline network will source crude from Zirku Island and Das Island, where Adnoc gathers and treats oil produced at Abu Dhabi’s offshore fields, among other processing hubs, and transport those volumes across 300 kilometres inland to the Jebel Dhanna terminal.

According to sources, the proposed pipelines will eventually connect to the West-East crude pipeline network currently being built from Abu Dhabi’s Jebel Dhanna to the emirate of Fujairah, and is expected to be commissioned in 2027.

The Abu Dhabi energy giant has awarded a contract for concept studies and front-end engineering and design (feed) to Abu Dhabi-based NT Energies, a joint venture of Abu Dhabi-based contractor NMDC Energy and France’s Technip Energies, sources told MEED.

NT Energies is expected to carry out the concept studies and feed on a “fast-track basis”, with the work anticipated to take seven months, sources said.

A kick-off meeting between the client and the appointed consultant took place on 6 July, sources added.

Additionally, Adnoc has appointed Australia-headquartered Worley to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services, sources further said.

West-East oil pipeline

In May, Adnoc said it was accelerating work on the West-East crude transport pipeline project from Jebel Dhanna to Fujairah, upon directions from its board.

The West-East pipeline project involves constructing a cross-country pipeline to transport crude from Adnoc’s export terminal at Jebel Dhanna to the Fujairah terminal, covering a distance of about 520km.

The pipeline will double Adnoc’s crude export capacity through Fujairah on the Indian Ocean coast and enable shipments to bypass the geopolitically volatile Strait of Hormuz.

Crude will be sourced from Adnoc’s offshore processing centres at Das, Zakum and Umm Lulu islands before being stored at new storage facilities to be built at the Jebel Dhanna terminal.

The pipeline will be segmented into three sections:

• Jebel Dhanna to Habshan main pumping station (MPS) – 115km
• Habshan MPS to Sweihan depot – 254km
• Sweihan depot to Fujairah terminal – 153km

Adnoc awarded Egyptian contractor Engineering for Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi) an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) contract for the project in February 2024.

Adnoc’s total spend on EPCm works could be as high as $3bn, MEED previously reported.

Sources have told MEED that Adnoc has, in turn, appointed state-owned China Petroleum Pipeline (CPP) and locally based Bin Asheer to carry out construction works on the three segments of the West-East pipeline network.

READ THE AUGUST 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes: