However, the Strait of Hormuz is not the only critical energy route. Several other narrow sea passages help transport oil and natural gas across the world. If any of these routes face issues, countries far away can also feel the impact.
What are the world’s most important energy routes?Some of the most important ones are the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Strait of Malacca, Danish Straits, Dardanelles, Cape of Good Hope, the Bosporus Strait and the Panama Canal.
Why is the Strait of Hormuz so critical to global oil supplies?
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow water passage between Iran and Oman. It connects the Persian Gulf, where many of the world’s biggest oil-producing countries are located, to the Arabian Sea, allowing ships to reach international markets. It is often called the world’s most important oil chokepoint.
According to the data, about 21 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day in 2022. That is roughly one out of every five barrels of oil consumed in the world, or about 21% of global oil consumption.
What happens if a critical energy route is blocked?
When a major energy route such as the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal or Strait of Malacca is blocked, the effects are felt far beyond the region where the disruption occurs. The first impact is on energy shipments and when uncertainty arises, crude oil prices often rise.
When transportation becomes more expensive, prices of everyday goods can also increase.
Do countries have alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz?
At present, only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have major pipelines that can transport oil without using the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has a large pipeline called the East-West Pipeline which carries oil across the country to ports on the Red Sea.
The pipeline can transport around 5 million barrels of oil per day, and Saudi Arabia can increase that to about 7 million barrels per day if needed.
The UAE has a pipeline connecting its oil fields to the port of Fujairah, located outside the Strait of Hormuz on the Gulf of Oman. The pipeline can carry about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
Iran also built an alternative route called the Goreh-Jask Pipeline and opened the Jask export terminal in 2021. The idea was to export oil directly through the Gulf of Oman without relying on the Strait of Hormuz.
Which countries control key energy chokepoints?
Iran, Oman and the UAE share control of the Strait of Hormuz. Egypt controls the Suez Canal and Sumed Pipeline. Turkey controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore border the Strait of Malacca, while Panama controls the Panama Canal.
How much of the world’s oil passes through these routes?
According to the data, the Strait of Malacca remains the busiest energy route in the world, which carries about 23.2 million barrels of oil per day. This is almost 29% of all oil shipped by sea in the world. In addition to oil, in 2025, around 9.2 billion cubic feet per day of LNG passed through it.
It was followed closely by the Strait of Hormuz, which handled around 20.9 million barrels per day in 2025. About 89% of oil goes to Asian countries. Not just oil, around 11.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day also passes through Hormuz.
The Cape of Good Hope carried about 9.1 million barrels per day, while both the Danish Straits and the Suez Canal along with the SUMED pipeline handled around 4.9 million barrels per day each. About 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of LNG passed through Danish Straits in 2025, which is almost 3 times more than in 2020.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait transported about 4.2 million barrels per day, while the Turkish Straits saw flows of around 3.7 million barrels per day. In 2024 and 2025, almost no LNG passed through Bab el-Mandeb.
The Suez Canal, SUMED pipeline, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait are important sea routes that help move oil and gas from the Middle East to Europe and other Western markets. These routes handled 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 stood at nearly 79.8 million barrels per day, compared to a total world oil supply of about 104.4 million barrels per day in 2025.
