About one-fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait. Between the start of 2022 and last month, approximately 17.8 million to 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate, and fuels flowed through the strait daily, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) — Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq — export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought alternative routes to bypass the strait.
About 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of unused capacity from existing UAE and Saudi pipelines could be available to bypass Hormuz, the US administration of energy information said in June last year.
Qatar, among the world's biggest liquefied natural gas exporters, sends almost all of its LNG through the strait.
The US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting commercial shipping in the area.
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