Countries World Oil Transit ChokepointsLast Updated: August 22, 2012 full reportBackground World oil chokepoints for maritime transit of oil are a critical part of global energy security. About half of the worlds oil production moves on maritime routes.Chokepoints are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes, some so narrow that restrictions are placed on the size of the vessel that can navigate through them. They are a critical part of global energy security due to the high volume of oil traded through their narrow straits.In 2011, total world oil production amounted to approximately 87 million barrels per day (bbl/d), and over one-half was moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes. By volume of oil transit, the Strait of Hormuz, leading out of the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are two of the worlds most strategic chokepoints.The international energy market is dependent upon reliable transport. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs. In addition, chokepoints leave oil tankers vulnerable to theft from pirates, terrorist attacks, and political unrest in the form of wars or hostilities as well as shipping accidents that can lead to disastrous oil spills. The seven straits highlighted in this brief serve as major trade routes for global oil transportation, and disruptions to shipments would affect oil prices and add thousands of miles of transit in an alternative direction, if even available.Volume of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products Transported Through World Chokepoints, 2007- 2011Location20072008200920102011Bab el_Mandab4.64.52.92.73.4 Turkish Straits2.72.72.82.9N/A Danish Straits3.22.83.03.0N/A Strait of Hormuz16.717.515.715.917.0 Panama Canal0.70.70.80.70.8 Crude Oil0.10.20.20.10.1 Petroleum Products0.60.60.60.60.6 Suez Canal and SUMED Pipeline4.74.63.03.13.8Suez Crude Oil1.31.20.60.70.8 Suez Petroleum Products1.11.31.31.31.4SUMED Crude Oil2.42.11.21.11.7Notes: All estimates are in million barrels per day. “N/A“ is not available. The table does not include a breakout of crude oil and petroleum products for most chokepoints because only the Panama Canal and Suez Canal have official data to confirm breakout numbers. Adding crude oil and petroleum products may be different than the total because of rounding. Data for Panama Canal is by fiscal years.Source: EIA estimates based on APEX Tanker Data (Lloyds Maritime Intelligence Unit). Panama Canal Authority and Suez Canal Authority, converted with EIA conversion factors.Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz is by far the worlds most important chokepoint with an oil flow of about 17 million barrels per day in 2011.Located between Oman and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz is the worlds most important oil chokepoint due to its daily oil flow of about 17 million bbl/d in 2011, up from between 15.7- 15.9 million bbl/d in 2009-2010. Flows through the Strait in 2011 were roughly 35 percent of all seaborne traded oil, or almost 20 percent of oil traded worldwide. More than 85 percent of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea, and Chinarepresenting the largest destinations. In addition, Qatar exports about 2 trillion cubic feet per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for almost 20 percent of global LNG trade. Furthermore, Kuwait imports LNG volumes that travel northward through the Strait of Hormuz. These flows totaled about 100 billion cubic feet per year in 2010.At its narrowest point, the Strait is 21 miles wide, but the width of the shipping lane in either direction is only two miles, separated by a two-mile buffer zone. The Strait is deep and wide enough to handle the worlds largest crude oil tankers, with about two-thirds of oil shipments carried by tankers in excess of 150,000 deadweight tons.Most potential options to bypass Hormuz are currently not operational. Only Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) presently have pipelines able to ship crude oil outside of the Gulf, and only the latter two countries currently have additional pipelinecapacity to circumvent Hormuz. At the start of 2012, the total available pipeline capacity from the two countries combined, which is not utilized, was approximately 1 million bbl/d. The amount could potentially increase to 4.3 million bbl/d by the end of this year, as both countries have recently completed steps to increase standby pipeline capacity to bypass the Strait.Iraq has one major crude oil pipeline, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan (Iraq-Turkey) Pipeline that transports oil from the north of Iraq to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. This pipeline pumped about 0.4 million bbl/d in 2011, far below its nameplate capacity of 1.6million bbl/d and it has been the target of sabotage attacks. Moreover, this pipeline