1 February 2010
Speculative oil pipelines offer alternative to Strait of Hormuz choke point
Concerns about the vulnerability of the passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz ebb and flow depending on the international mood over Iran, writes Digby Lidstone
ON A TYPICAL day, about 50 oil tankers carrying up to 17m barrels of crude and refined products pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Put another way, this narrow choke point accounts for nearly 40% of the world's seaborne oil supplies, and a fifth of the oil traded globally every day. Concerns about the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz have tended to ebb and flow depending on the international mood over Iran. Tensions reached a high water mark in June 2008, when Ali Mohammed Jafari, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, said that if Iran was attacked by the US or Israel, it would wreak havoc in the energy markets by sealing off the strait. Military strategists are divided about h
Also in this section
23 April 2026
The addition of an oil pipeline to the Power of Siberia 2 gas project could ensure deliveries of Russian oil to China, materially shorten logistics lines between West Siberia and final customers, and—amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—offer a land-based export route that reduces exposure to maritime chokepoints
23 April 2026
There is a clear push to bolster exports to Asia amid uncertainty around its North American neighbour, but there are limits to the benefits from the energy crisis
23 April 2026
Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
