Key oil transit under pressure

The Strait of Hormuz, located in the area where Iran shot down a US military drone, is a strategically important waterway for the world's oil transits, which lies at the heart of regional tensions.

Gateway to the Gulf: The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is situated between Iran and Oman. It is vulnerable due to its narrowness -- some 50 kilometres (30 miles) -- and its depth of no more than 60 metres (200 feet).

Oil transit hotspot: The strait is a vital corridor connecting the petroleum-rich states of the Middle East with markets in Asia, Europe, North America and elsewhere. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2018 nearly 21 million barrels of crude a day transited the strait. That represents around 21 percent of world oil consumption and one-third of total global seaborne oil transit. A quarter of global liquefied natural gas trade also transited Hormuz, the EIA said. Around 76 percent of the crude transiting the strait was destined last year for Asia, mainly China, India, Japan and South Korea. While Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have established a network of pipelines that can use alternative routes, they only allow the export of limited amounts -- around three million barrels a day in 2018, with a total capacity of 6.8 million. These pipelines too are vulnerable, as shown by the attack on a Saudi pipeline in May by Yemeni rebels.

Zone of tension, conflict: Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the ideological army of the Islamic republic, controls naval operations in the Gulf. Tehran repeatedly criticises the presence of foreign powers in the region, notably the US Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain, and it has regularly threatened to close the strait if it comes under attack. One of the major disruptions to oil transit came in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) when more than 500 vessels were destroyed or damaged in the so-called "Tanker War". In 1988, an Iran Air flight from Tehran to Dubai, via Bandar Abbas, was shot down by missiles fired from a US Navy cruiser patrolling the strait. All 290 people on board were killed. The crew of the USS Vincennes said they mistook the Airbus for an Iranian fighter.