Energy markets like to speak in abstractions: liquidity, flexibility, spare capacity, hedging. Then the Strait of Hormuz appears on the map, and the language becomes much simpler. A narrow waterway can still frighten the whole global economy.
The numbers explain why. The International Energy Agency says around 20 million barrels per day of oil, roughly a quarter of world seaborne oil trade, transits the Strait of Hormuz. It also notes that most of that oil is destined for Asia.
Gas is just as exposed. The US Energy Information Administration reported that about 20% of global LNG trade passed through Hormuz in 2024, mainly from Qatar. Qatar alone exported about 9.3 billion cubic feet per day of LNG through the strait that year.
This is why Gulf energy security is not only about production. It is about routes, insurance, shipping confidence, pipelines, storage, naval risk and the political temperature between states that do not trust each other.
The lesson is uncomfortable. The energy transition may reduce dependence on oil over time, but it has not yet abolished geography. Until it does, Hormuz will remain a small place with global consequences.
Author: Samir Haddad is an energy security analyst specialising in Gulf energy markets and strategic resource planning.
