Roughly half of the world’s top 20 busiest crude oil-exporting ports are located in the Persian Gulf. There are only a handful of conduits allowing oil exports to leave the Persian Gulf and bypass the Strait of Hormuz (click here for a map of Persian Gulf export routes).

In 2006, the vast majority (about 93 percent) of oil exported from the Persian Gulf transited by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is a 600-mile-long body of water, which separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula, and one of the most strategic waterways in the world due to its importance in world oil transportation. The Strait of Hormuz consists of 2-mile wide channels for inbound and outbound tanker traffic, as well as a 2-mile wide buffer zone and at its narrowest point is only 34 miles wide. Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz account for roughly two-fifths of all global crude oil and petroleum product tanker shipments. The approximate 17 million bbl/d of crude oil and refined products transiting the Strait of Hormuz go both east to Asia (especially Japan, China, and India) and west (via the Suez Canal, the Sumed pipeline, and around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa) to Western Europe and the United States. In addition, over 3.5 Bcf/d of natural gas travels through the Strait of Hormuz via LNG tankers in route to Asia, Europe, and North America.

Currently, there are few alternate routes to the Strait of Hormuz for exporting Persian Gulf oil. Some of the options described below need repairs and upgrades or are closed due to political, economic, or geopolitical issues in the area.

East-West Pipeline (Petroline). The 745-mile East-West Pipeline is the most viable alternate route to ship Saudi oil circumventing the Strait of Hormuz and has a capacity of approximately 5 million bbl/d. The pipeline traverses Saudi Arabia from Abqaiq to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. The Saudis expanded the East-West Pipeline in part to maintain Yanbu as a strategic option to Gulf port facilities in the event that exports were blocked from passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The East-West Pipeline is utilized at less than half capacity, as shipments from Yanbu add up to five days roundtrip travel time for tankers through the Bab el-Mandab Strait to major customers in Asia.

Abqaiq-Yanbu Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Pipeline. Running parallel to the East-West Pipeline is the 290,000-bbl/d Abqaiq-Yanbu NGL Pipeline, serving Yanbu's petrochemical plants. After upgrades in 2008, the pipeline capacity will increase to 555,000 bbl/d.

Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline). The Tapline from Qaisumah to Sidon, Lebanon, was mothballed in 1984 because of turmoil in Lebanon and economic reasons. Saudi Arabia terminated the portion to Jordan in 1990, as a result of the Jordanian support for Iraq during the Gulf crisis. In 1983, the Tapline's Lebanese section was closed altogether. Since then, the Tapline had been used exclusively to supply oil to Jordan, although Saudi Arabia terminated this arrangement to display displeasure with perceived Jordanian support for Iraq in the 1990/91 Gulf crisis. The pipeline’s operational capacity is approximately 50,000 bbl/d, or a fraction of the design capacity of 500,000 bbl/d.

Iraqi Pipeline through Saudi Arabia (IPSA) Pipeline. The IPSA pipeline, which runs from southern Iraq south through Saudi Arabia and then parallel to the East-West Pipeline westbound to the Red sea north of Yanbu, was closed in August 1990 after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In June 2001, Saudi Arabia expropriated the IPSA line and converted the line to carry natural gas to Yanbu though it could be another outlet for about 1.65 million bbl/d of oil.

Strategic Pipeline. The “Strategic Pipeline” built by Iraq in 1975 is a north-south system, consisting of a reversible 1.4 million bbl/d pipeline system. The pipeline system contains two parallel lines, and capacity on the first pipeline is 700,000 bbl/d. Work on the second parallel line was ceased during the Gulf War of 1990/91. The system allows for export of northern Kirkuk crude from the Persian Gulf and for southern Rumaila crudes to be shipped through Turkey, though the system needs rehabilitation before it can become operational.

Iraq-Turkey Pipeline. The 600-mile Iraq-Turkey Pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oil region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has been operating only sporadically during the past few years due to security issues. The system consists of two parallel lines, one with a design capacity of 1.1 million bbl/d and the second with an optimal capacity of about 500,000 bbl/d. Usable capacity on the line in early 2007 is believed to be roughly 300,000 bbl/d with significant repairs and upgrades still required.

Iraq-Syria-Lebanon Pipeline (ISLP). The ISLP connects the Kirkuk oil region to Syria’s port of Banias. Iraq used this pipeline between 2001 and 2003 to transport 200,000 bbl/d of oil from southern Iraq to Syrian refineries; however pipeline flows have stopped since the US war began in 2003. The system consisted of two pipelines with a combined capacity of 700,000 bbl/d and used to carry 450,000 to 600,000 bbl/d.