According to reports, Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow waterway that once carried a fifth of global oil and gas – has collapsed, with only three ships able to slip through in the past 24 hours. The International Energy Agency calls the strait’s closure “the biggest supply shock in history” – worse than the 1970s oil crises and Russia’s gas cut-off combined.
Energy markets are reeling as oil companies scramble for any route that doesn’t run through Hormuz. Thankfully, a few such alternatives do exist for fuel-starved countries desperate to bail their citizens out:
EAST–WEST PIPELINE (SAUDI ARABIA)
Saudi Arabia’s 745-mile line can pump up to 7 million barrels a day from the Gulf to the Red Sea.
HABSHAN–FUJAIRAH PIPELINE (UAE)
This 220-mile shortcut sends Abu Dhabi’s crude straight to the Gulf of Oman, bypassing Hormuz. Operated by ADNOC and commissioned in 2012, the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) pipeline has a capacity of about 1.5 to 1.8 million bpd. Oil loadings at Fujairah, however, have been affected by drone attacks since the Iran war started at the end of February.
KIRKUK–CEYHAN PIPELINE (IRAQ–TURKEY)
Iraq’s northern route to the Mediterranean is sputtering back to life after a two-year freeze. The pipeline runs from Kirkuk to Turkey‘s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via the Kurdistan region. It reopened last September following an interim deal between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government. It’s currently pushing about 170,000 barrels a day, with promises to hit 250,000, after Iraq’s national oil company SOMO signed export contracts via Turkey, Jordan and Syria.
GOREH–JASK PIPELINE (IRAN)
Tehran’s potential lifeline runs to the new Jask terminal on the Gulf of Oman, with a 1 million barrel daily capacity. The construction of the terminal is not fully complete, but a loading from Jask was tested in 2024, the IEA said.
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