According to a report by the Dubai-based Gulf News, the Strait is far more than just a busy shipping lane.

It is the only sea passage linking the Arabian Gulf to the open oceans.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), roughly 20%-25% of the world’s seaborne oil and about 20% of global liquefied natural gas pass through it every day.

Because so much of the world’s energy flows through this single route, even small disruptions can quickly spread through global markets and drive prices up, the report said.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has called the current situation the most serious oil supply disruption ever recorded.

Its Executive Director, Fatih Birol, has called it the “biggest energy crisis in history,” according to Reuters.

Unsurprisingly, oil prices have climbed as markets factor in the possibility of prolonged supply pressure from the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia: the biggest but limited workaround

According to the report, Saudi Arabia offers the region’s most significant alternative route through its East-West pipeline.

The 1,200-kilometre system links eastern oilfields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and can carry up to 7 million barrels per day, although actual usable capacity is closer to 4.5 million bpd due to infrastructure constraints.

This route allows Saudi crude to avoid the Gulf entirely, heading instead toward Europe via the Suez Canal or toward Asia through the Bab Al Mandeb Strait.

But this also shifts the risk to another sensitive corridor — the Red Sea — where shipping has faced its own security challenges in recent years.

According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia has increased use of this pipeline since the disruption began, reinforcing its role as a key safety valve in the system.

UAE: bypassing the Strait by design

The UAE takes a more direct geographical workaround, the report stated.

Its Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, operated by ADNOC, moves crude from inland fields straight to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, completely avoiding Hormuz.

The pipeline has a capacity of around 1.5-1.8 million barrels per day, Reuters reports.

Fujairah has steadily developed into a key global hub for storage and refuelling, playing an important role in keeping exports moving smoothly.

However, its capacity is still quite limited when compared to the region’s overall production levels, and the facility has also seen security incidents during periods of rising regional tensions.

In simple terms, it does provide some support — but it cannot fully protect exports from broader regional risks.

Iraq: multiple routes, limited scale

Still reeling after the devastation caused by the US-led invasion, Iraq’s oil export network is fragmented and depends on a number of smaller pipelines instead of one large, reliable alternative route, the report stated.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey provides access to the Mediterranean, but even with planned upgrades, it handles only a fraction of Iraq’s total exports.

In response to disruptions, Iraq has also looked at overland export routes through Syria, according to Reuters.

However, these alternatives are more expensive to operate and face a lot of logistical challenges, so in practice, they only offer limited relief from Iraq’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran: a workaround still in progress

Over the years, Iran has attempted to develop its own alternative through the Goreh-Jask pipeline, designed to carry about 1 million barrels per day to terminals on the Gulf of Oman.

However, the IEA notes that the Jask terminal is still not fully operational.

Reuters has also reported that while a shipment on a trial basis took place in 2024, the system has yet to reach its intended capacity.

For now, that leaves Iran’s bypass route incomplete and unable to fully offset disruptions.

Long-term fixes still a distant prospect

Over the years, several ideas have been floated to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, including proposed pipelines from Iraq to Oman’s Duqm port and another linking Iraq to Jordan’s Aqaba.

But most of these projects could not take off, mostly because of financing difficulties, political differences, and security concerns.

Some more ambitious ideas — such as constructing a canal to link the Gulf with the Arabian Sea — are still largely on paper.

The main reason is simple: the engineering hurdles are enormous, and the cost would be staggering.

A deeper structural issue

Even with all these proposals and discussions, the reality remains unchanged.

None of the available alternatives can match the sheer scale of the Strait of Hormuz.

Every day, around 20 million barrels of oil and refined products move through the Strait.

According to the IEA, that volume is far higher than what all existing alternative routes can handle combined.

The agency also notes that there are no viable alternatives for large volumes of LNG that currently move through the Strait.

This mismatch explains the market reaction.

According to Bloomberg, markets are now steadily factoring in the risk of supply disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions, which have led to increased volatility in trading.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and Iran all have some alternative routes in place, but none of them fully replace the Strait of Hormuz.

Put simply, global energy flows still rely heavily on this one critical chokepoint.

And as long as that remains true, any extended disruption is likely to squeeze supply, raise shipping risks, and keep global energy prices under pressure.