As the United States-Israeli war on Iran enters its fourth week, global oil and gas markets face mounting pressure due to the near-total halt of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, which normally carries 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas, has seen traffic plunge by more than 95 percent since Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared it closed to certain nations. About 2,000 ships remain stranded, while some vessels from India, Pakistan, China, and Malaysia have been granted limited passage after securing Tehran’s approval.
In response, regional producers are turning to three key pipelines to bypass the strait: Saudi Arabia’s East-West Petroline, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, and Iraq’s Kirkuk-Ceyhan line to Turkiye. Combined, these routes can move around 9 million barrels per day—less than half the 20 million normally shipped through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has sharply increased Petroline flows, but risks persist from potential Houthi attacks near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The UAE’s Fujairah exports have risen modestly, while Iraq’s pipeline remains underused.
Despite these efforts, analysts note that the pipelines’ limited capacity and vulnerability to missile and drone strikes mean they cannot fully replace the disrupted seaborne exports.
Share As the United States-Israeli war on Iran enters its fourth week this weekend, pressure on oil and gas markets continues to mount due to severe disruption to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as well as attacks on and around key ener
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