Oil producers looking for alternative routes - Iran keeps shipping through the Strait of Hormuz closed
Iran continues to block nearly all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for about 20% of global oil and natural gas supplies. With Hormuz effectively blocked, Gulf exporters are shifting their oil flows to pipelines that bypass the strait. Shipments through these alternative routes are steadily increasing, according to the International Energy Agency.
Saudi Arabia is rapidly increasing flows through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, while the United Arab Emirates is increasing exports through a pipeline connecting onshore fields to a port on the Gulf of Oman.
According to the March Oil Market Report, flows through the East-West pipeline have increased from 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025 to a record daily export of 5.9 million barrels per day. The United Arab Emirates is taking similar action. The Energy Agency reports that flows through the pipeline that carries oil to the Gulf of Oman have doubled compared to pre-crisis capacity.
While Gulf countries try to find alternatives to Hormuz, Iran itself has continued to ship oil at a rate of 1.1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day.
On Friday, US forces struck Kharg Island, the hub for about 90% of Iran's oil exports, one of Tehran's most sensitive vulnerabilities. The US-Israeli war against Iran is holding Gulf ports hostage.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned that any ship passing through the narrow strait will be targeted. Since the standoff began, at least 22 civilian ships - tankers, container ships and other large cargo carriers - have been attacked.
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