Facts About the Strait of Hormuz: Energy, Trade, and Strategy

Facts About Straits of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow but extremely important sea passage between Iran and Oman. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and ultimately the wider Indian Ocean.

Where is it?

Think of it like a gateway:

Persian Gulf → Strait of Hormuz → Gulf of Oman → Arabian Sea → Indian Ocean

Iran is on the north side, while Oman controls territory on the south side, including the Musandam Peninsula.

Why is it so important?

Because a huge amount of the world's oil and natural gas shipments pass through it.

The Strait of Hormuz normally carries about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day, roughly 20% of global petroleum-liquids consumption. About 20% of global LNG trade also passes through it, primarily from Qatar.

Countries around the Persian Gulf — including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Iran — depend heavily on this maritime route to export energy to the rest of the world.

The strait is only roughly 33 km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, although the actual shipping lanes are narrower.

About one in every four barrels of oil traded by sea must pass through this 54 km-wide bottleneck — hence its description as the world's most vital energy lifeline.

Why do you hear about Iran and Hormuz so often?

Because Iran sits directly beside the strait. Iran has repeatedly stated that it has the ability to disrupt or restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, particularly during periods of conflict.

That's why a tiny-looking waterway between Iran and Oman can potentially affect gasoline prices in Indonesia, electricity prices in Japan, airline tickets in Europe and inflation around the entire world.

Iran sits right beside the Strait, but it isn't necessarily the biggest user of it.

Iran can export some oil through ports on the Gulf of Oman, which means it can partially bypass Hormuz. Iran's Goreh–Jask pipeline was built specifically to allow some oil exports without passing through the strait, although its effective capacity has remained relatively small.

Does oil from all Gulf countries pass through the Strait?

Not exactly — all Persian Gulf countries use it as their main route, but two have partial alternatives:

Country	Main Route via Hormuz?	Alternative Bypass Available?
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	✅ Yes — most exports	East-West Pipeline → Red Sea (Yanbu) — ~5–7 mb/d capacity
🇮🇶 Iraq	✅ Yes — southern fields	Partial: Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline (northern only)
🇦🇪 UAE	✅ Yes — majority	ADCOP pipeline → Fujairah (Gulf of Oman) — ~1.5–1.8 mb/d
🇮🇷 Iran	✅ Yes — nearly all	Minimal: small Goreh–Jask pipeline, not fully operational
🇰🇼 Kuwait	✅ 100% dependent	❌ None
🇶🇦 Qatar	✅ 100% dependent (all LNG too)	❌ None
🇧🇭 Bahrain	✅ 100% dependent	❌ None
🇴🇲 Oman	❌ — lies outside the strait	Exports go directly through Gulf of Oman

So: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain have NO alternative — they can only export through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia and the UAE can shift some volume away, but not all.

Which country passes through the most?

Rank	Country	Volume (mb/d)	Share of Hormuz flows
1	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	~5.5–6.0	~37%
2	🇮🇶 Iraq	~3.3	~23%
3	🇦🇪 UAE	~1.9–2.0	~13%
4	🇮🇷 Iran	~1.6	~11%
5	🇰🇼 Kuwait	~1.4	~10%
6	🇶🇦 Qatar	~0.7	~5%
7	🇧🇭 Bahrain	<0.1	<1%

Source: EIA / Vortexa / IEA 2025.

Who Owns This Straits

The maritime area is divided between the coastal states, Iran and Oman, and the strait is subject to international law governing navigation. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) describes the territorial jurisdiction of the strait as falling on both Iran and Oman.

Iran's side and Oman's side

Both countries have territorial waters extending up to 12 nautical miles under their maritime laws. Iran's legislation explicitly claims a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, while Oman likewise declares a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea.

Gulf countries also rely on straits of hormuz for their food

That is why a prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruption could be particularly serious for the Gulf countries themselves. Gulf countries have almost no arable land and very little fresh water — they cannot grow enough food to feed their populations.

The Gulf states have very limited agriculture because of their extremely dry climate and water scarcity, so they import a large share of their food. The IMF estimates that the GCC countries collectively import about 85% of the food they consume; cereals are especially import-dependent, with more than 90% imported.