• US strikes on Iran’s three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

• Iran’s Parliament has approved a move to close the Strait of Hormuz, which would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

• Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing and derail the world economy.

Strait of Hormuz

• The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. 

• The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint because large volumes of oil flow through the strait. 

• Chokepoints are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes that are critical to global energy security. 

• The narrow channel, approximately 33 kilometres wide at the narrowest point, separates Iran (north) from the Arabian Peninsula (south). 

• The inability of oil to transit a major chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial supply delays and higher shipping costs, resulting in higher world energy prices. 

• Although most chokepoints can be circumvented by using other routes that add significantly to transit time, some chokepoints have no practical alternatives.

• Large volumes of oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, and very few alternative options exist to move oil out of the strait if it is closed.

• In 2024, oil flow through the strait averaged 20 million barrels per day (bpd), or the equivalent of about 20 per cent of global petroleum liquids consumption.

• The bulk of oil exports from regional powerhouses — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Qatar, Iran, and Kuwait — must transit this narrow waterway.

• According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), China imported 5.4 million bpd of crude through the Strait of Hormuz in the first quarter of 2025. India imported 2.1 million bpd, followed by 1.7 million bpd by South Korea, and 1.6 million bpd by Japan.

How significant is it for India?

• India sources about 40 per cent of its supplies from Middle East nations such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. These countries export crude oil to India through the Strait of Hormuz route.

• For India, the Strait of Hormuz is important as about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of its total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the narrow waterway.

• Analysts say that if the strait is shut down, alternative sources like Russia to the US and Brazil are available to fill any void.

• Russian oil is logistically detached from the Strait of Hormuz, flowing via the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, or the Pacific Ocean. Even US, West African, and Latin American flows — though costlier — are increasingly viable backup options.

• On gas, India’s principal supplier Qatar does not use the Strait of Hormuz for supplies to India. 

• India’s other sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Australia, Russia and the US would be untouched by any closure.

• The heightened tensions would however have a near-term impact on prices, with oil prices likely to jump.

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that any disruption to flows through the Strait would have significant consequences for world oil markets.

• India is 90 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs and buys roughly half of its natural gas from overseas. 

• While crude oil is turned into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, natural gas is used for generating electricity, making fertilisers, and turned into CNG for running automobiles or piped to household kitchens for cooking.

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