The United Arab Emirates has announced plans to fast-track a new oil pipeline that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz, as a way to guard against future disruptions to shipping through the waterway and ramp up the country's export capacity.

According to The Guardian, the new pipeline is scheduled to come online sometime in 2027, and would double the UAE's export capacity. In total, the pipeline would be able carry up to 1.8 million barrels of oil a day to their port along the Gulf of Oman.

The UAE already has a separate pipeline spanning 235 miles, running from an oil field in the southwestern region of Abu Dhabi to the Port of Fujairah. However, the port has been under attack in recent weeks, with Iran launching missiles and drones at the shipping hub in early May. With few signs that the Iran war might abate soon, a second pipeline could allow the UAE to maintain or even ramp up its oil exports even as the conflict drags on indefinitely.

It also represents a departure from a tacit agreement with Saudi Arabia that's traditionally favored strict production quotas, which have allowed Middle Eastern countries to control oil prices. The UAE left the OPEC oil cartel — headed by Saudi Arabia — in late April, as the first indication that it was seeking to regain control over its own oil production and export levels. Combined between its existing pipeline and the one being fast-tracked for next year, the UAE could reach an export capacity of up to 3.6 million barrels a day, inching it closer to Saudi Arabia's daily capacity of 5 million.