India’s search for alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz is turning toward an extraordinary piece of subsea infrastructure: a proposed deepwater pipeline corridor connecting the Gulf region with India’s western coast.
A feasibility study awarded to Peritus International is examining a proposed deepwater crude oil pipeline between the United Arab Emirates and India, as concerns over the vulnerability of energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz continue to grow. The study is separate from the longer-running Middle East–India Deepwater Pipeline (MEIDP) gas concept, which has also been proposed as an alternative route for Gulf energy supplies.
The attraction is straightforward. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, and disruptions there can quickly affect tanker movements, insurance costs, freight rates and energy prices. A subsea pipeline reaching India's western coast would offer a route that does not depend on tankers passing through the strait.
But getting the oil there could be far more difficult than drawing the route on a map.
An extraordinary subsea challenge
The broader MEIDP gas project envisages a pipeline linking Oman with India's Gujarat coast, with proposed routes reaching depths of approximately 3,450 metres beneath the Arabian Sea. Earlier engineering work by South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE) has examined the challenging seabed conditions along the proposed corridor, including the Indus Fan and other deepwater geological features.
Those depths put the project among the most technically demanding subsea pipeline concepts ever considered.
At such depths, installation is only one part of the problem. Pipeline design must account for enormous external pressure, difficult seabed conditions, potential geohazards, thermal and flow-assurance requirements, inspection and maintenance, and the ability to intervene if a section of the system fails.
The proposed oil route introduces another layer of complexity. Transporting crude through a deepwater pipeline requires infrastructure capable of maintaining reliable flow over a long subsea distance while managing pressure, temperature and operational risks. The feasibility study being undertaken by Peritus is intended to determine whether such a system can be technically and commercially justified.
Security advantage comes with a price
The strategic case is nevertheless compelling.
A pipeline could give India a dedicated physical connection to Gulf energy supplies without relying entirely on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. It could also reduce exposure to tanker availability, war-risk insurance and shipping disruptions during periods of regional instability.
But bypassing one risk does not eliminate risk altogether.
A subsea pipeline stretching hundreds or thousands of kilometres would itself become a critical piece of energy infrastructure. It would require extensive monitoring, protection and maintenance, while repairs at extreme water depths could be considerably more difficult and expensive than conventional offshore interventions.
And there is the question of economics.
Building an ultra-deepwater pipeline requires enormous upfront capital, specialised installation vessels and technology, while its commercial case depends on having sufficiently large and reliable volumes moving through the system for decades.
A proposal, not yet a government-backed project
There is also an important distinction between the engineering studies and India's official position.
In June, India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said that no Middle East–India deep-sea pipeline proposal was under consideration by the ministry, and that there were no active discussions or negotiations with Oman or other Gulf countries over such a project at that level.
That means the concept should currently be viewed as a proposed and studied energy-security option rather than an approved Indian government project.
Still, the renewed attention is significant. The fact that a separate feasibility study is now examining a UAE–India oil pipeline demonstrates how seriously the industry is considering infrastructure that could reduce dependence on maritime chokepoints.
For India, the question is therefore bigger than whether engineers can build one of the world's deepest subsea pipelines.
It is whether the security premium of having an alternative route to Gulf energy supplies will ultimately justify the extraordinary engineering, financial and operational challenge of putting one on the seabed.
Hormuz may be the problem this concept is designed to avoid. The deeper question is whether the ocean floor offers an economically realistic alternative.
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