The Strait of Hormuz is a
narrowing at the entrance of the Persian Gulf connection with the Arabian Sea
that connects to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Bordering the Strait is Iran
and UAE and Saudi Arabia. The shipping
route to the Mediterranian Sea is the Red Sea that connects to the Suez Canal. See below.
FACTBOX-Strait of Hormuz: the
world's most important oil artery, 4/23/19.
WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? The waterway separates Iran and Oman, linking the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. The Strait is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just two miles (three km) wide in either direction.
WHY DOES IT MATTER? The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that 18.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of seaborne oil passed through the waterway in 2016. That was about 30 percent of crude and other oil liquids traded by sea in 2016. About 17.2 million bpd of crude and condensates were estimated to have been shipped through the Strait in 2017 and about 17.4 million bpd in the first half of 2018, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.
ARE THERE ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FOR GULF OIL?
WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? The waterway separates Iran and Oman, linking the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. The Strait is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just two miles (three km) wide in either direction.
WHY DOES IT MATTER? The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that 18.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of seaborne oil passed through the waterway in 2016. That was about 30 percent of crude and other oil liquids traded by sea in 2016. About 17.2 million bpd of crude and condensates were estimated to have been shipped through the Strait in 2017 and about 17.4 million bpd in the first half of 2018, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.
ARE THERE ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FOR GULF OIL?
LONDON,
April 23 (Reuters) - Iran has said it would block the Strait of Hormuz if it
was barred from using the strategic waterway through which about a fifth of oil
that is consumed globally passes.
The
threat from an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander followed a
U.S. announcement on Monday that it would end exemptions granted last year to
eight buyers of Iranian oil and demanding they stop purchases by May 1 or face
sanctions. Oil prices have surged to six-month highs.
The
Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to
markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond, has been at the heart of
regional tensions for decades. Iran has made threats to block the waterway in
the past, without acting on them. Below is some background about the Strait:
With global oil
consumption standing at about 100 million bpd, that means almost a fifth passes
through the Strait.
Most crude exported from
Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq — all members of
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — is shipped through the
waterway.
It is also the route
used for nearly all the liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced by the world’s
biggest LNG exporter, Qatar.
During the 1980-1988
Iran-Iraq war, the two sides sought to disrupt each other’s oil exports in what
was known as the Tanker War.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet,
based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting the commercial ships in the area. “While
the presence of the U.S. Fifth Fleet should ensure that the critical waterway
remains open, provocative Iranian military manoeuvers are likely in the
immediate offing as is a nuclear restart,” analysts at bank RBC said on April
22.
Iran agreed to rein in
its nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions under a 2015 deal with
the United States and five other global powers. Washington pulled out of the
pact in 2018. Western powers fear Iran wants to make nuclear weapons. Tehran
denies this.
“All of these geopolitical
stories could present a cruel summer scenario for President (Donald) Trump as
he seeks to keep oil prices in check,” the RBC analysts said.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia
have sought to find other routes to bypass the Strait, including building more
oil pipelines.
The following EIA table
shows existing pipelines and proposed projects:
HAVE THERE BEEN
INCIDENTS IN THE STRAIT BEFORE? In July 1988, the U.S. warship Vincennes shot
down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 aboard, in what Washington said was
an accident after crew mistook the plane for a fighter. Tehran said it was a
deliberate attack. The United States said the Vincennes was in the area to
protect neutral vessels against Iranian navy attacks.
In early 2008, the
United States said Iranian boats threatened its warships after they approached
three U.S. naval ships in the Strait. In June 2008, the then Revolutionary
Guards commander-in-chief, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Iran would impose controls
on shipping in the Strait if it was attacked.
In July 2010, Japanese
oil tanker M Star was attacked in the Strait. A militant group called Abdullah
Azzam Brigades, which is linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility.
In January 2012, Iran
threatened to block the Strait in retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions
that targeted its oil revenues in an attempt to stop Tehran’s nuclear program.
In
May 2015, Iranian ships fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker which it said
damaged an Iranian oil platform, causing the vessel to flee. It also seized a
container ship in the Strait.
In
July 2018, President Hassan Rouhani hinted Iran could disrupt oil flows through
the Strait in response to U.S. calls to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero. A
Revolutionary Guards commander also said Iran would block all exports through
the Strait if Iranian exports were stopped.
The current sabotage
of ships by Iran occurred in June 2019.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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