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World Oil Transit Choke Points

Monday, January 21 2013, 7:11 PM

World Oil Transit Choke Points

Strait of Hormuz

The narrow channels widely used across the global sea routes are called chokepoints. The chokepoints

have a very high volume of oil traded through their narrow straits and are a critical part of Global energy

security. A 90 million barrels per day (bbl/d) oil is produced all over world, out of which half is moved by

tankers on fixed maritime routes. By the volume of the oil transport, Strait of Hormuz which leads out to

Persian Gulf and the Strait of Malacca which links the Indian and Pacific Oceans are two of the world's

most strategic chokepoints.

Blockage of the choking points can lead to substantial

increases in total energy costs, thus affecting the

world economy. Here is a brief discussion of the

above:

Strait of Hormuz is world's most important chokepoint

with an oil flow of almost 17 million barrels per day in

2011. This is roughly 35 percent of all seaborne

traded oil, or almost 20 percent of oil traded

worldwide. The strait is located between Oman and

Iran, and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf ofOman and the Arabian Sea. The narrowest point of

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 world's largest crude oil tankers, with about two-thirds

of oil shipments carried by tankers in excess of 150,000 deadweight tons.

Alternative Routes to Strait of Hormuz:

The alternate routes to the Strait of Hormuz are some oil

pipelines in the region. One of them is the 745 mile long

Petroline, also known as the East-West Pipeline,

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Bosporous

Panama Canal

The two straits of Turkey viz. Bosporus and Dardanelles divide Asia from Europe.

The Bosporous or Bosphorus or the Istanbul Strait is world's

narrowest strait used for international navigation. The

strategic importance of Bosporous lies in the increased oil

exports from the Caspian sea region. Today, it is one of the

busiest and most dangerous chokepoints in the world

supplying Western and Southern Europe.

The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of

Marmara, and the Dardanelles links the Sea of Marmara with

the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. The 17-mile long

waterway located in Turkey supplies Western and Southern Europe with oil from the Caspian Sea Region.

Bosporous is only half a mile wide at its narrowest point.

Alternatives to Bosporous:

As of now, there are no alternate routes for westward shipments from the Black and Caspian Sea region,

there are several pipeline projects in various phases of development.

Panama Canal is an important route connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic

Ocean. The Gaillard Cut is an 8-1/2 mile excavation through the Continental Divide, connecting Gatun Lake

to the Pedro Miguel Locks on the Pacific side. The cut was originally 300 feet wide, but was widened in the

1930s. The cut has been widened several more times over the years. At present the width is over 600ft.

Alternatives to Panama Canal:

Closure of the Panama Canal would greatly increase transit times and costs adding over 8,000 miles of

travel. Vessels would have to reroute around the Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn and Drake Passage over

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