The Bosporus and Dardanelles comprise the Turkish Straits and divide Asia from 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.In 2006, an estimated 2.4 million bbl/d of mostly crude oil flowed southbound through this passageway. Oil shipments through the Turkish Straits decreased from 3.1 million bbl/d to current levels in 2006 as Russia shifted exports toward the Baltic ports. Traffic through the Straits is expected to increase as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan augment crude production and exports in the future.

Source: U.S. Government

Only half a mile wide at its narrowest point, the Turkish Straits are one of the world's most difficult waterways to navigate due to its sinuous geography. With 50,000 vessels, including 5,500 oil tankers, passing through the straits annually it is also one of the world’s busiest chokepoints. It is an export route for oil production from the Caspian Sea region through the Black Sea en route to the Mediterranean Sea and world markets.

The ports of the Black and Baltic Seas, are the primary oil export routes for Russia and the Former Soviet Union. Oil exports have increased in the past 15 years, and Turkey has raised concerns over the navigational safety and environmental threats to the Straits. Commercial shipping has the right of free passage through the Bosporus Straits in peacetime, although Turkey claims the right to impose regulations for safety and environmental purposes.

Bottlenecks and heavy traffic also create problems for oil tankers in the Bosporus Straits. While there are no current alternate routes for westward shipments from the Black and Caspian Sea region, there are several pipeline projects in various phases of development underway.  In 2008, construction is expected to begin on the Albania-Macedonia-Bulgaria (AMBO) pipeline, a 570 mile, 750,000 bbl/d pipeline connecting the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas with the Albanian Adriatic port of Vlore (see Southeastern Europe Country Analysis Brief for additional information). Additionally, Russia has engaged in discussions with Bulgaria and Greece over a 173-mile pipeline, and also discussed the potential for the 120-mile Trans-Thrace and the Samsun-Ceyhan pipelines.