The United Arab Emirates has begun operating an overland pipeline which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait at the mouth of the Gulf.
The 370km pipeline carries oil from fields in the western desert of UAE to Fujairah, an oil port on the coast.
Initial handling capacity is 1.5 million barrels of crude per day, with direct access to the Indian Ocean.
Until now, the UAE - like Qatar and Kuwait - had been entirely dependent on Hormuz to export its crude.
