Investing.com -- The United Arab Emirates' new crude oil pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz reached 50% completion, ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said Wednesday.

Iran has kept the strait largely closed to non-Iranian vessels since U.S.-Israeli strikes in February, causing energy prices and inflation to rise and raising concerns about economic effects.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office disclosed the project publicly last week, stating the UAE will speed up construction of the oil pipeline to double its export capacity through Fujairah port by 2027.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed instructed ADNOC to accelerate the West-East Pipeline project during an executive committee meeting, according to the media office.

"Today, it's already almost 50% complete, and we are accelerating its delivery toward 2027," Al Jaber said during a live-streamed Atlantic Council event.

"Right now, too much of the world's energy still moves through too few choke points. That is exactly why the UAE made the decision more than a decade ago to invest in infrastructure that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz," Al Jaber said.

The current Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, also called the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, can transport up to 1.8 million barrels per day and has been important as the UAE works to maximize exports from the Gulf of Oman coast outside the strait.

Al Jaber said some ADNOC facilities were directly targeted and some infrastructure was hit. Damage assessment is ongoing and will take weeks in some cases and months in others to return to full operational capacity, he said.