Abu Dhabi ( CNN ) -- Fujairah , one of seven emirates which make up the UAE , is putting new meaning into the saying `` build it and they will come . '' As members of OPEC tussle with a 20 % drop in oil prices since June -- and question if they should trim production at their November meeting -- the UAE is forging ahead with a crucial piece of its energy strategy . Sitting south of the world 's busiest oil shipping lane , the Strait of Hormuz , the tiny emirate of Fujairah is emerging as a global energy hub . Mousa Murad , general manager of the Port of Fujairah , saw the area 's potential in 1991 , during the first Gulf War . A traffic jam of more than 200 tankers , triggered by concerns of bomb attacks , was lined up at the mouth of the Strait . Murad told CNN this was a `` light bulb moment '' for his team . `` We thought we should be thinking about how we can serve shipping as maritime services , '' he said , referencing the bunkering service initially offered . Today , the once sleepy emirate is doing far more than just loading fuel for ships . After Iran threatened to shut down the Strait in 2008 , oil-rich Abu Dhabi decided to leverage Fujairah 's strategic location on the Indian Ocean with unimpeded access to the seas to reach clients in Asia . China , Japan and South Korea are Abu Dhabi 's top three importers of UAE crude . The game changer was a decision by the UAE government to build a $ 3 billion , 240-mile oil pipeline from Abu Dhabi 's Habshan field into Fujairah , with a capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day . The pipeline , opened two years ago , can handle about half of the UAE 's daily production . Thangapandian Srinivasalu , a 30-year veteran of the business and executive director of Gulf Petrochem , laid out the energy hub 's potential while taking me through a map of the facility . Srinivasalu said Fujairah has something those in Asia and Europe do n't : plenty of oil in its neighborhood . `` Unlike Singapore or Rotterdam , which are the leading ports , you are surrounded by crude producers , surrounded by refineries , '' said Srinivasalu . `` This is what interested us the most , and it 's very peaceful . '' Indeed , it is almost eerily peaceful . On a clear day , looking east from the balcony , one can see Iran . With rising demand from Asia , and two thirds of proven reserves sitting in the region , the UAE will continue to up the ante with more spending . By June 2016 , the port is expected to be able to manage huge crude carriers known in the business as `` VLCCs , '' which handle two million barrels per load . Future plans include building a LNG import terminal to use natural gas to fuel power plants , saving the oil for export . Malek Azizeh , commercial director of Fujairah Oil Terminal , told me those investments are ensuring the expanding terminal is catching the attention of the energy industry . He points to , for example , the joint venture he is helping launch in December with China 's Sinopec and Singapore 's Concord Energy . `` All these things , add them up and it gives you a perfect scenario for somebody to take a step forward and get out of the usual thing and do something different , '' Azizeh told me as we toured the construction of the site 's massive holding tanks . In an irony not lost on the executives , it was threats by Iran in 2008 which triggered this investment . If talks with Tehran over its nuclear program go well and sanctions are lifted , this expanding hub could eventually welcome Iranian crude . More from John Defterios : ISIS ' struggle to control its oil riches . Read more : Airstrikes , militants and a refugee crisis fail to dampen Iraq oil markets .
Fujairah , one of the emirates which make up the port , is emerging as a global energy hub . By 2016 , the port is expected to be able to handle huge bulk carriers , which handle 10 million tonnes per load .