Hormuz Disruptions Put Türkiye's Pipeline Routes in Global Spotlight

(MENAFN) Escalating disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli strikes on Iran have thrust Türkiye into the center of global energy diplomacy, as governments and markets scramble to secure viable alternative transit corridors.

Though no formal closure has been declared, Iranian authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on vessel crossings, allowing only ships from select nations to pass — and others only under stringent conditions. The result has been a near-paralysis of one of the world's most critical energy arteries, with tanker crossings plummeting by more than 90% on some days, and falling to zero on others.

The economic fallout has been swift and severe. The strait, which facilitates roughly 20% of global oil trade, now places the daily transit of 15 million barrels of crude oil in jeopardy. Crude prices have surged approximately 70%, climbing from around $70 to $120 per barrel. Natural gas markets have proven even more volatile — Europe's benchmark TTF contracts have nearly doubled, rising from roughly €30 ($34.56) to the €60–€70 range.

In response, the International Energy Agency (IEA) mobilized member nations to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves, injecting a supply signal into rattled markets. Emergency measures on the gas side — including accelerated spot LNG deliveries, expanded storage drawdowns, and demand-side management — have also been deployed. Yet prices remain stubbornly elevated, with traders pricing in the risk of further regional escalation.

Alternative Routes: Undersupplied and Overstretched
According to IEA data, approximately 20 million barrels per day flowed through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025 — a volume that existing bypass infrastructure is structurally ill-equipped to absorb.

The two primary overland alternatives — pipelines running through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — collectively offer bypass capacity of only 3.5 to 5.5 million barrels per day, a fraction of what the strait handles.

The UAE's Abu Dhabi–Fujairah pipeline currently exports around 1.1 million barrels daily, with a remaining spare capacity estimated at approximately 700,000 barrels. In Saudi Arabia, the East-West crude oil pipeline — engineered to handle up to 5 million barrels per day — is presently operating at roughly 2 million barrels, leaving an additional 3 to 5 million barrels of theoretical headroom. The parallel Abqaiq–Yanbu pipeline, which carries natural gas liquids, is already running at full capacity at around 300,000 barrels per day, leaving no room to absorb additional load.

The cumulative gap between available bypass capacity and actual Hormuz throughput remains vast, intensifying the urgency to identify longer-range corridor solutions — and placing Türkiye, with its geographic leverage and existing pipeline infrastructure, in an increasingly strategic position in the global energy calculus.

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