Bro, grab a coffee and sit down, because I've got news that'll make you realize the Arabs are smarter than all our diplomats combined! See, there's been a crisis in the Gulf for about three months now, since they started wrestling with the Iranians, and the Strait of Hormuz is almost blocked - a fifth of the world's oil used to pass through there, man, no joke! Now no tanker gets through, 'cause it's full of drones and missiles.
And what do those guys from the Emirates do? They don't sit around complaining to Brussels or holding peace rallies. No, bro, they pour money into infrastructure! Their state company, Adnoc, said they want to build a pipeline for refined petroleum products that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Their vice president, Philippe Khoury - supposedly spends "a lot of time" figuring out how to secure their deliveries. Good for him, at least he's doing something, unlike our slick talkers who brag on Facebook that they're "solving" the crisis.
Now, here's the kicker: the Emirates already have a crude oil pipeline from Habshan to the port of Fujairah on the east coast. Since the war started, they've pumped as much as they could through it, but capacity is limited - only 1.5 million barrels per day. And don't think it's a walk in the park: the port of Fujairah has been attacked a few times, 'cause the Iranians don't mess around. So Adnoc is already building a second crude oil pipeline, which will double capacity by early next year.
But the slickest is the new pipeline for refined products - it'll work like the Colonial Pipeline in the United States, meaning it transports several types of fuel in sequence. That's the solution, bro: pipelines, not prayers at the UN! So far, only Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have pipelines that bypass the Strait - Saudi Aramco sent its oil via the Red Sea through the port of Yanbu.
And they don't stop there! The Emirates are also looking into a west-east pipeline, which would allow other Gulf producers to avoid the strait by crossing their territory. Meaning they want to become even more important than they already are.
Now, think about it: we in Romania have problems with a 20-kilometer highway, and these guys build hundreds of kilometers of pipelines through the desert, amid drone attacks, and still come out on top. If they hadn't done this, oil prices would go crazy and we'd end up with diesel at 10 lei per liter. So, this time, let's give the Arabs a hand - at least they know how to make money and not complain.
For now, I'm off to call Fane to see how much diesel is at the pump, 'cause he has connections at the gas station. Maybe I'll catch a good price before it goes up because of this crisis.
