This strategic waterway between Iran and Oman serves as the route for approximately 20% of the world’s daily oil supply. Disruptions in this passage can influence oil prices, fuel costs, inflation, and economies worldwide.
Nevertheless, the Strait of Hormuz is not the sole vital energy passage. Other narrow maritime routes play crucial roles in the global oil and natural gas transport network. Any issues with these routes can have repercussions for countries far away.
What are the world’s most significant energy routes?
Key routes include the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Strait of Malacca, the Danish Straits, Dardanelles, Cape of Good Hope, the Bosporus Strait, and the Panama Canal.
Why is the Strait of Hormuz essential for global oil supplies?
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage connecting Iran and Oman, links the Persian Gulf—home to many of the largest oil-producing nations—to the Arabian Sea, facilitating access to international markets. It is frequently referred to as the most critical oil chokepoint globally.
Data indicates that in 2022, around 21 million barrels of oil and petroleum products traversed the Strait of Hormuz daily. This accounts for roughly one out of every five barrels of oil consumed globally, or about 21% of worldwide oil consumption.
What occurs if a vital energy route is obstructed?
When a significant energy route, like the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, or Strait of Malacca, is blocked, the repercussions extend well beyond the region of the disruption. Initial effects include disruptions to energy shipments, often resulting in rising crude oil prices driven by uncertainty.
Increased transportation costs can lead to higher prices for everyday goods as well.
Do countries have alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz?
Currently, only Saudi Arabia and the UAE possess major pipelines that can transport oil independently of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline moves oil across the country to ports on the Red Sea.
This pipeline can carry approximately 5 million barrels of oil daily, and Saudi Arabia can potentially boost this capacity to about 7 million barrels per day if necessary.
The UAE has a pipeline linking its oil fields to the port of Fujairah, located outside the Strait of Hormuz, on the Gulf of Oman. This pipeline can transport around 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
Additionally, Iran has established an alternative route known as the Goreh-Jask Pipeline and launched the Jask export terminal in 2021, aiming to export oil directly through the Gulf of Oman without depending on the Strait of Hormuz.
Which nations control key energy chokepoints?
Iran, Oman, and the UAE jointly control the Strait of Hormuz, while Egypt oversees the Suez Canal and Sumed Pipeline. Turkey governs the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The Strait of Malacca is bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and Panama administers the Panama Canal.
How much of the world’s oil transits through these routes?
Data shows that the Strait of Malacca is the world’s busiest energy route, carrying about 23.2 million barrels of oil daily, which constitutes nearly 29% of all maritime oil shipments globally. In addition to oil, around 9.2 billion cubic feet of LNG passed through it in 2025.
Following closely, the Strait of Hormuz handled approximately 20.9 million barrels per day in 2025, with around 89% of the oil directed to Asian countries. Furthermore, about 11.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day also transited Hormuz.
The Cape of Good Hope transported about 9.1 million barrels per day, and both the Danish Straits and the Suez Canal, along with the SUMED pipeline, managed around 4.9 million barrels per day each. The Danish Straits recorded about 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of LNG in 2025, nearly three times the volume in 2020.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait facilitated around 4.2 million barrels per day, while the Turkish Straits observed flows of approximately 3.7 million barrels per day. In 2024 and 2025, minimal LNG transited through Bab el-Mandeb.
The Suez Canal, SUMED pipeline, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait are crucial maritime routes facilitating oil and gas movement from the Middle East to Europe and other Western markets, collectively handling about 6% of global seaborne oil trade in the first half of 2025. The Panama Canal transported 2.3 million barrels per day.
The global maritime oil trade reached nearly 79.8 million barrels per day, compared to a total world oil supply of about 104.4 million barrels per day in 2025.
