Create

What flows through the Strait of Hormuz

Story video · 2 Nov 2026

Dark map of the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran. A flow band of 20.9 million barrels of oil a day in the first half of 2025 splits into crude 14.7 and refined products 6.1. Pies show crude by origin, led by Saudi Arabia at 38 percent, and by buyer: China 37, India 14, South Korea 12, Japan 11 percent. A last card shows EIA's estimate of 21.6 million barrels a day in 4Q 2025 and 4.9 in 2Q 2026.

In the first half of 2025, 20.9 million barrels of oil a day went through the Strait of Hormuz.

That is a quarter of all oil moved by sea. Saudi Arabia shipped the most crude, 89% of it went to Asia, and China, India, Japan and South Korea took 74%.

In 2Q 2026, EIA estimates, the flow fell to 4.9 million a day, from 21.6 in 4Q 2025.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): World Oil Transit Chokepoints, Mar 2026; Short-Term Energy Outlook, Aug 2026