Kuwait eyes Fujairah for oil exports

Kuwait is studying access to a pipeline route through the UAE to Fujairah as it looks to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for its oil exports, Deputy CEO for Planning and Innovation at Kuwait Oil Company Mohammed Al Abduljaleel tells EnterpriseAM. It’s also in talks to connect to a proposed Saudi pipeline running to the Red Sea so that it could serve both countries.

Both are early: Neither route has reached feasibility-study stage, leaving costs and capacity estimates undetermined. Al Abduljaleel says Kuwait would pursue the projects as long-term investments regardless of whether regional tensions ease, with most crude continuing to move through existing Gulf ports under normal conditions.

Back on tap?

Gulf oil exports rebound in September: Crude exports from Gulf producers, led by Saudi Arabia, jumped 4.4 mn bbl / d to 13.9 mn bbl / d, more than 75% of pre-war levels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its October Oil Market Report. That lifted global supply by 2.5 mn bbl / d to 102.3 mn bbl / d.

Saudi led, the UAE set a record, and Kuwait slipped. Saudi crude output rose to 8.3 mn bbl / d from 5.97 mn bbl / d in August, while UAE total output climbed 400k bbl / d to a record 5.3 mn bbl / d, Bloomberg reports. Kuwait bucked the trend, with crude output falling 550k bbl / d to 1.49 mn bbl / d, according to the IEA.

The oil moved through Hormuz and around it — but that route is now under fire: Flows through the strait rose 3.7 mn bbl / d to 10.9 mn bbl / d, helped by ship-to-ship transfers off Oman. The restarted East-West pipeline lifted bypass exports to 5.6 mn bbl / d. Twelve vessels were attacked around Hormuz between 5 and 11 October, according to a UKMTO tally. The IEA kept its forecasts for the rest of the year largely unchanged; global stocks sit 509 mn bbl below pre-war levels.

Footing the freight bill

Qatari factories get a freight cushion: State-owned Qatar Development Bank (QDB) will cover up to 80% of the war-driven increase in their raw material shipping costs through a non-repayable grant, AGBI reports. The bank has expanded the Logistics Support Fund behind it to QAR 400 mn (c. USD 110 mn). QDB plans to gradually redirect the fund toward its primary objective, supporting exports, once import logistics costs return to normal.

Uptake is already strong: Some 154 factories have applied so far, and QDB has approved 436 applications. Factories can claim more than once, and manufacturers in every sector qualify.

Brussels looks east

The EU has signed an additional EUR 25 mn (c. USD 29 mn) in funding to expand migration cooperation into Libya’s Haftar-controlled east, Reuters reports, citing a letter from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to EU leaders. The money will fund border management, search-and-rescue, and anti-smuggling work.

The east is where the pressure has shifted. Libya-to-Crete was the most active corridor on the Eastern Mediterranean route in the first eight months of 2026, Frontex data shows. The route logged more than 24.2k crossings over that period, even as total irregular crossings into the EU fell 35% y-o-y to nearly 75k.

The EU still formally recognizes only the Tripoli-based government. It has stepped up contacts with the east since last year, and decided to set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Benghazi in July.

What’s next: Von der Leyen pointed to an upcoming EU-Libya meeting to keep cooperation going, but no date has been announced.