ÿþ<html xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2000/10/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:my="http://localhost/namespace"> <head> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-16" /> <title>World Oil Transit Chokepoints Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal</title> <meta name="description" content="World Oil Transit Chokepoints Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal" /> <meta name="keywords" content="World Oil Transit Chokepoints Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta http-equiv="pragma" content="no-cache" /> <LINK HREF="../cabs.css" TYPE="text/css" REL="StyleSheet" /> </head> <body> <table width="670px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border:solid 1px #000000"> <tr valign="top"> <td align="left" colspan="2"><img src="../images/PrintHeader.jpg" alt="Country Analysis Briefs Header" /><br /><span class="cssPrintHeader" style="padding-left:10px;">World Oil Transit Chokepoints<br /></span><span class="cssContent">Last Updated: Dec. 30, 2011<p></p></span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="545" height="1" /></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Background</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">World oil transit chokepoints are a critical part of global energy security. About half of the world s oil production moves on maritime routes. </td> <td class="cssContent"> <div><a name="back"></a>Chokepoints are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes, some so narrow that restrictions are placed on the size of vessel that can navigate through them. They are a critical part of global energy security due to the high volume of oil traded through their narrow straits. <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Tanker size chart.gif" alt="" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: Clarksons<p></p> </div> <div>In 2011, total world oil production amounted to approximately 88 million barrels per day (bbl/d), and over one-half was moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes. By volume of oil transit, the <a href="#hormuz"><span style="">Strait of Hormuz</span></a> leading out of the Persian Gulf and the <a href="#malacca"><span style="">Strait of Malacca</span></a> linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans are two of the world s most strategic chokepoints. <p></p> </div> <div>The international energy market is dependent upon reliable transport. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs. In addition, chokepoints leave oil tankers vulnerable to theft from pirates, terrorist attacks, and political unrest in the form of wars or hostilities as well as shipping accidents which can lead to disastrous oil spills.<p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><a name="hormuz"></a><span class="cssHeader1"> Strait of Hormuz </span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">The Strait of Hormuz is by far the world s most important chokepoint with an oil flow of almost 17 million barrels per day in 2011.</td> <td class="cssContent"> <div><a name="BAB"></a>Located between <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=MU">Oman</a> and <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=IR">Iran</a>, the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint due to its daily oil flow of almost 17 million barrels in 2011, up from between 15.5-16.0 million bbl/d in 2009-2010. Flows through the Strait in 2011 were roughly 35 percent of all seaborne traded oil, or almost 20 percent of oil traded worldwide. <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Map of Strait of Hormuz" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/Oil%20and%20Gas%20Infrastructue%20Persian%20Gulf%20(large).gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/Hormuz Small.gif" alt="Map of Strait of Hormuz" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/Oil%20and%20Gas%20Infrastructue%20Persian%20Gulf%20(large).gif" class="lightbox"><span style="">Click here to zoom out for alternate routes</span></a>)<p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div>On average, <span style="">1</span><span style="">4</span><span style=""> crude</span><span style=""> oil </span>tankers per day passed through the Strait in 2011, with a corresponding amount of empty tankers entering to pick up new cargos. More than 85 percent of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea, and China representing the largest destinations.<p></p> </div> <div>At its narrowest point, the Strait is 21 miles wide, but the width of the shipping lane in either direction is only two miles, separated by a two-mile buffer zone. The Strait is deep and wide enough to handle the world's largest crude oil tankers, with about <span style="">two-thirds</span><span style=""> of oil shipments carried by </span>tankers in excess of <span style="">150,000</span><span style=""> d</span>eadweight tons. <p></p> </div> <div>Closure of the <span class="place">Strait of Hormuz</span> would require the use of longer alternate routes at increased transportation costs. Alternate routes include the 745 mile long Petroline, also known as the East-West Pipeline, across Saudi Arabia from Abqaiq to the Red Sea. The East-West Pipeline has a nameplate capacity of about 5 million bbl/d. The Abqaiq-Yanbu natural gas liquids pipeline, which runs parallel to the Petroline to the <span class="place">Red Sea</span>, has a 290,000-bbl/d capacity. Additional oil could also be pumped north via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, but volumes have been limited by the closure of the Strategic pipeline linking north and south Iraq. <p></p> </div> <div>The United Arab Emirates is also completing the 1.5 million bbl/d Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline pipeline that will cross the emirate of Abu Dhabi and end at the port of Fujairah just south of the Strait. Other alternate routes could include the deactivated 1.65-million bbl/d Iraqi Pipeline across Saudi Arabia (IPSA), and the deactivated 0.5 million-bbl/d Tapline to Lebanon.<p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><a name="malacca"></a><span class="cssHeader1">Malacca</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans is the shortest sea route between the Middle East and growing Asian markets. </td> <td class="cssContent"> <div>The Strait of Malacca, located between <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=ID"><span style="">Indonesia</span></a>, <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=MY"><span style="">Malaysia</span></a>, and <span class="country_region">Singapore</span>, links the Indian Ocean to the <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=SCS"><span style="">South China Sea</span></a> and <span class="place">Pacific Ocean</span>. Malacca is the shortest sea route between Persian Gulf suppliers and the Asian markets  notably <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=CH"><span style="">China</span></a>, <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=JA"><span style="">Japan</span></a>, <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=KS"><span style="">South Korea</span></a>, and the <span class="place">Pacific Rim</span>. Oil shipments through the Strait of Malacca supply China and Indonesia, two of the world s fastest growing economies. It is the key chokepoint in Asia with an estimated 13.6 million bbl/d flow in 2009, down slightly from its peak of 14 million bbl/d in 2007. <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Map of Straits of Malacca" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/MalaccaClose.gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/MalaccaDistance.gif" alt="Map of Straits of Malacca" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/MalaccaClose.gif" class="lightbox"><span style="">Click here to zoom</span></a>)<p></p> </div> <div>At its narrowest point in the Phillips Channel of the Singapore Strait, Malacca is only 1.7 miles wide creating a natural bottleneck, as well as potential for collisions, grounding, or oil spills. According to the International Maritime Bureau s Piracy Reporting Centre, piracy, including attempted theft and hijackings, is a constant threat to tankers in the Strait of Malacca, although the number of attacks has dropped due to the increased patrols by the littoral states authorities since July 2005.<p></p> </div> <div>Over 60,000 vessels transit the Strait of Malacca per year. If the strait were blocked, nearly half of the world's fleet would be required to reroute around the Indonesian archipelago through Lombok Strait, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok, or the Sunda Strait, located between Java and <span class="place">Sumatra</span>. <p></p> </div> <div>There have been several proposals to build bypasses to reduce tanker traffic through the Strait of Malacca. Construction began in 2009 to build a 240,000 bbl/d crude oil pipeline from Burma to China that could eventually be expanded. <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><a name="suezsumed"></a><span class="cssHeader1">Suez Canal/SUMED Pipeline</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">Closure of the Suez Canal and SUMED Pipeline would add an estimated 6,000 miles of transit around the continent of Africa.</td> <td class="cssContent"><span class="cssSubheading2"><span class="place">Suez Canal</span></span><br /><div align="both">The Suez Canal is located in <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=EG">Egypt</a>, and connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez with the <span class="place">Mediterranean Sea</span>, spanning 120 miles. Year-to-date through November of 2010, petroleum (both crude oil and refined products) as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounted for 13 and 11 percent of <span class="place">Suez</span> cargos, measured by cargo tonnage, respectively. Total petroleum transit volume was close to 2 million bbl/d, or just below five percent of seaborne oil trade in 2010. <p></p> </div> <div align="both">Almost 16,500 ships transited the <span class="place">Suez Canal</span> from January through November of 2010, of which about 20 percent were petroleum tankers and 5 percent were LNG tankers. With only 1,000 feet at its narrowest point, the Canal is unable to handle the VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) and ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carriers) class crude oil tankers. The Suez Canal Authority is continuing enhancement and enlargement projects on the canal, and extended the depth to 66 ft in 2010 to allow over 60 percent of all tankers to use the Canal. <p></p> </div> <div align="both"> <p></p> </div> <div align="both"> <div align="center" title="Map of Suez Canal" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/SuezClose.gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/SuezDistance.gif" alt="Map of Suez Canal" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div align="both">Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/SuezClose.gif" class="lightbox"><span style="font-decoration: underline;color: #auto;">Click here to zoom</span></a>)<p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2"></span><br /><div align="both">Closure of the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline would divert oil tankers around the southern tip of Africa, the <span class="place">Cape of Good Hope</span>, adding approximately 6,000 miles to transit, increasing both costs and shipping time. According to a report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), shipping around Africa would add 15 days of transit to Europe and 8-10 days to the <span class="place"><span class="country_region">United States</span></span>. <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2">SUMED Pipeline </span><br /><div align="both">The 200-mile long SUMED Pipeline, or Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline provides an alternative to the Suez Canal for those cargos too large to transit the Canal (laden VLCC s and larger). The pipeline has a capacity of 2.3 million bbl/d and flows north from Ain Sukhna, on the Red Sea coast to Sidi Kerir on the <span class="place">Mediterranean</span>. The SUMED is owned by Arab Petroleum Pipeline Co., a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Saudi Aramco, <span class="place">Abu Dhabi</span> s National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Kuwaiti companies. <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2"></span><br /><div align="both"> <div align="center" title="Map of the SUMED pipeline" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/sumed.gif" alt="Map of the SUMED pipeline" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div align="both">Source: Oil Capital Ltd.<p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2"></span><br /><span class="cssSubheading2">Crude Oil</span><br /><div align="both">The majority of crude oil flows transiting the Canal travel northbound, towards markets in the Mediterranean and <span class="place">North America</span>. Northbound canal flows averaged approximately 428,000 bbl/d in 2010. The SUMED pipeline accounted for 1.15 million bbl/d of crude oil flows along the route over the same period. Combined, these two transit points were responsible for over 1.5 million bbl/d of crude oil flows into the <span class="place">Mediterranean</span>, with an additional 307,000 bbl/d travelling southbound through the Canal. Northbound crude transit represented a decline from 2008 when 940,000 bbl/d of oil transited northbound through the Canal and an additional 2.1 million travelled through the SUMED to the <span class="place">Mediterranean</span>. <p></p> </div> <div align="both"> <div align="center" title="Table of total hydrocarbon flows through the Suez/Sumed from 2008 through November of 2010" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Suez Table.gif" alt="Table of total hydrocarbon flows through the Suez/Sumed from 2008 through November of 2010" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div><span style="font-style: italic;">Source: </span><span class="place"><span style="font-style: italic;">Suez Canal</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Authority, </span><span style="font-style: italic;">converted with EIA conversion factors. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">SUMED pipeline flows are EIA estimates based on APEX (Lloyd s MIU) Tanker Data.</span><p></p> </div> <div><span style="font-style: italic;">*2010 </span><span style="font-style: italic;">information </span><span style="font-style: italic;">is year-to-</span><span style="font-style: italic;">date </span><span style="font-style: italic;">January-</span><span style="font-style: italic;">November</span><p></p> </div> <div align="both"> <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2">Total Oil and Products</span><br /><div align="both">Total oil flows from the <span class="place">Suez Canal</span> declined from 2008 levels of over 2.4 million bbl/d in 2008 to just under 2 million bbl/d on average in 2010. Flows through the SUMED experienced a much steeper drop from approximately 2.1 million bbl/d to 1.1 million bbl/d over the same period. The year-on-year difference reflects the collapse in world oil market demand that began in the fourth quarter of 2008 which was then followed by OPEC production cuts (primarily from the Persian Gulf) causing a sharp fall in regional oil trade starting in January 2009. Drops in transit also illustrate the changing dynamics of international oil markets where Asian demand is increasing at a higher rate than European and American markets, while West African crude production is meeting a greater share of the latter s demand. At the same time, piracy and security concerns around the Horn of Africa have led some exporters to travel the extra distance around <span class="place"><span class="country_region">South Africa</span></span> to reach western markets. <p></p> </div><span class="cssSubheading2">Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)</span><br /><div align="both">Unlike oil, LNG transit through the Suez Canal has been on the rise since 2008, with the number of tankers increasing from approximately 430 to 760, and volumes of LNG traveling northbound (laden tankers) increasing more than four-fold. Southbound LNG transit originates in <span class="country_region">Algeria</span> and <span class="country_region">Egypt</span>, destined for Asian markets while northbound transit is mostly from <span class="country_region">Qatar</span> and <span class="country_region"><span class="place">Oman</span></span>, destined for European and North American markets. The rapid growth in LNG flows over the period represents the startup of five LNG trains in <span class="country_region"><span class="place">Qatar</span></span> in 2009-2010. The only alternate route for LNG tankers would be around Africa as there is no pipeline infrastructure to offset any <span class="place">Suez Canal</span> disruptions. Countries such as the <span class="country_region">United Kingdom</span> and <span class="country_region">Italy</span> received more than half of their total LNG imports via the Suez Canal in 2009 while over 90 percent of <span class="country_region"><span class="place">Belgium</span></span> s LNG imports transited through the canal. <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><a name="Bab-el-Mandab"></a><span class="cssHeader1">Bab el-Mandab</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">Closure of the Bab el-Mandab could keep tankers from the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal/Sumed pipeline complex, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa.</td> <td class="cssContent"> <div><span style="">The Strait of Bab el-Mandab is a chokepoint between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, and a strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and </span><span class="place"><span style="">Indian Ocean</span></span><span style="">. It is located between </span><span class="country_region"><span style=""><a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=YM">Yemen</a></span></span><span style="">, </span><span class="country_region"><a href="/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=DJ">Djibouti</a></span>, and <span class="country_region"><a href="/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=ER">Eritrea</a></span>, and connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the <span class="place">Arabian Sea</span>. Most exports from the Persian Gulf that transit the <span class="place">Suez Canal</span> and SUMED pipeline also pass through the Bab el-Mandab. <p></p> </div> <div><div align="center" title="Map of Bab el-Mandab (far)" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/Babel-Mandab.gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/RedSea.gif" alt="Map of Bab el-Mandab (far)" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/Babel-Mandab.gif" class="lightbox">Click here to zoom</a>)<p></p> </div> <div>An estimated 3.2 million bbl/d flowed through this waterway in 2009 (vs. 4 million bbl/d in 2008) toward Europe, the <span class="country_region">United States</span>, and <span class="place">Asia</span>. The majority of traffic, about 1.8 million bbl/d, moved northbound through the Bab el-Mandab en route to the Suez/SUMED complex. <p></p> </div> <div>The Bab el-Mandab is 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, making tanker traffic difficult and limited to two 2-mile-wide channels for inbound and outbound shipments. Closure of the Strait could keep tankers from the Persian Gulf from reaching the <a href="#suezsumed">Suez Canal or Sumed Pipeline</a>, diverting them around the southern tip of <span class="place">Africa</span>. This would effectively engage spare tanker capacity, and add to transit time and cost. <p></p> </div> <div>The Strait of Bab el-Mandab could be bypassed via the East-West oil pipeline, which crosses <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=SA">Saudi Arabia</a> with a nameplate capacity of 4.8 million bbl/d. However, southbound oil traffic would still be blocked. In addition, closure of the Bab el-Mandab would block non-oil shipping from using the <a href="#suezsumed">Suez Canal</a>, except for limited trade within the <span class="place">Red Sea</span> region. <p></p> </div> <div>Security became a concern of foreign firms doing business in the region, after a French tanker was attacked off the coast of <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=YM"><span style="">Yemen</span></a> by terrorists in October 2002. In recent years, this region has also seen rising piracy, and <span style="">Somali pirates </span><span style="">continue to </span><span style="">attack vessels off the northern Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden and southern </span><span class="place"><span style="">Red Sea</span></span><span style=""> including </span><span style="">the </span><span style="">Bab el-Mandab</span><span>.</span> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1"> Bosporus </span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">Increased oil exports from the Caspian Sea region make the Bosporus Straits one of the busiest and most dangerous chokepoints in the world supplying Western and Southern Europe. </td> <td class="cssContent"> <div>The Bosporus and Dardanelles comprise the Turkish Straits and divide Asia from <span class="place">Europe</span>. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles links the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and <span class="place">Mediterranean Seas</span>. <span style="">The</span><span style=""> 17-mile long waterway</span><span style=""> located in </span><span class="country_region"><span style="">Turkey</span></span><span style=""> supplies Western and </span><span class="place"><span style="">Southern Europe</span></span><span style=""> with oil from the Caspian Sea Region.</span><p></p> </div> <div><span style="">A</span><span style="">n estimated </span>2.9 million bbl/d flowed through this passageway in 2009, of which over 2.5 million bbl/d was crude oil. The ports of the Black Sea are one of the primary oil export routes for Russia and other former Soviet Union republics. Oil shipments through the Turkish Straits decreased from over 3.4 million bbl/d at its peak in 2004 to 2.6 million bbl/d in 2006 as <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=RS"><span style="">Russia</span></a> shifted crude oil exports toward the Baltic ports. Traffic through the Straits has increased again as <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=AJ"><span style="">Azerbaijan</span></a> and <a href="/countries/cab.cfm?fips=KZ"><span style="">Kazakhstan</span></a> crude production and exports rose. <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Map of Bosporous-Turkish Straits" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/BosporusClose.gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/BosporusDistance.gif" alt="Map of Bosporous-Turkish Straits" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/BosporusClose.gif" class="lightbox">Click here to zoom</a>)<p></p> </div> <div>Only half a mile wide at its narrowest point, the Turkish Straits are one of the world's most difficult waterways to navigate due to its sinuous geography. With 50,000 vessels, including 5,500 oil tankers, passing through the straits annually it is also one of the world s busiest chokepoints. <p></p> </div> <div><span class="country_region"><span class="place">Turkey</span></span> has raised concerns over the navigational safety and environmental threats to the Straits. Commercial shipping has the right of free passage through the Bosporus Straits in peacetime, although <span class="country_region"><span class="place">Turkey</span></span> claims the right to impose regulations for safety and environmental purposes. Bottlenecks and heavy traffic also create problems for oil tankers in the Bosporus Straits. While there are no current alternate routes for westward shipments from the Black and <span class="place">Caspian Sea</span> region, there are several pipeline projects in various phases of development underway. <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Photo of Bosporous-Turkish Straits (1)" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Turkey - Image 1.gif" alt="Photo of Bosporous-Turkish Straits (1)" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Photo of Bosporous-Turkish Straits (2)" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Turkey- Image 2.gif" alt="Photo of Bosporous-Turkish Straits (2)" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Panama Canal</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">The United States is the primary country of origin and destination for all commodities transiting through the Panama Canal, however, it is not a significant route for U.S. petroleum trade.</td> <td class="cssContent"> <div><a name="back"></a><a name="BAB"></a>The Panama Canal is an important route connecting the Pacific Ocean with the <a href="/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=CR"><span style="">Caribbean</span></a> Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The Canal is 50 miles long, and only 110 feet wide at its narrowest point called Culebra Cut on the Continental Divide. Over 14,000 vessels transit the Canal annually, of which more than 60 percent (by tonnage) are for traffic to and from the United States. <p></p> </div> <div>Closure of the Panama Canal would greatly increase transit times and costs adding over 8,000 miles of travel. Vessels would have to reroute around the Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn and Drake Passage over the tip of <span class="place">South America</span>.<p></p> </div> <div>However, the Panama Canal is not a significant route for petroleum transit or for U. S. petroleum imports. Roughly one-fifth of the traffic through the canal (measured by both transits and tonnage) was by tankers. According to the <a href="http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/transit-stats/2011-table07.pdf" class="ico_pdf" target="_blank">Panama Canal Authority</a>, 766,000 bbl/d of crude and petroleum products were transported through the canal in Fiscal Year 2011, of which 645,000 bbl/d were refined products, and the rest crude oil (EIA conversions from long tons to barrels). Most petroleum traffic passed from north (Atlantic) to South (Pacific).<p></p> </div> <div>Ho<span style="">wever, the relevance of the Panama Canal to the global oil trade has diminished, as many modern tankers are too large to travel through the canal. Some oil tankers, such as </span><span style="">the</span><span style=""> U</span><span style="">LCC</span><span style=""> (Ultra Large Crude Carriers)</span><span style=""> class tankers</span><span style="">, can be nearly five times larger than the maximum capacity of the canal.</span><span style=""> The largest vessel that can transit the Panama Canal is known as a PANAMAX-size vessel (ships ranging from 50,000  80,000 dead weight tons in size and no wider than 108 ft.)</span><span style=""></span><p></p> </div> <div><span style="">In order to make the canal more accessible, the Panama Canal Authority began an expansion program to be completed by end-2014. </span><span style="">However, while many larger tankers will be able to transit the canal after 2014, some ULCC s will still be unable to make the transit</span><span style="color: #000000;">.</span><p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Map of Panama Canal" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><a href="images/PanamaCanalClose.gif" class="lightbox"><img src="images/PanamaCanalDistance.gif" alt="Map of Panama Canal" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></a></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government (<a href="images/PanamaCanalClose.gif" class="lightbox">Click here to zoom</a>)<p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Panama Canal map with Locks" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/Panama Image 1.gif" alt="Panama Canal map with Locks" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: BBC News<p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trans-Panama Pipeline</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><p></p> </div> <div>The Trans-Panama Pipeline (TPP - Petroterminal de Panama, <span class="country_region">S.A.</span>) is located outside the former Canal Zone near the Costa Rican border and runs from the port of Charco Azul on the Pacific Coast to the port of Chiriquie Grande, Bocas del Toro on the <span class="place">Caribbean</span>. The pipeline was built in 1982, with the original purpose being to facilitate crude oil shipments from Alaska s North Slope to refineries in the <span class="place">Caribbean</span> and the U.S. Gulf Coast. However, in 1996, the TPP was shut down as oil companies began shipping Alaskan crude along alternative routes. Since 1996, there were intermittent requests and proposals to utilize the TPP.In August 2009, TPP completed a project to reverse its flows in order to enable it to carry oil from the Caribbean to the Pacific. <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="../images/Blank.gif" width="125" height="1" /></td> <td align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Danish Straits</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="125" class="cssTakeAway">The Danish Straits are becoming an increasingly important route for Russian oil exports to Europe.</td> <td class="cssContent"> <div>An estimated 3.3 million bbl/d flowed westward through this waterway in 2009 to European markets, up from 2.4 million bbl/d in 2005. Russia has increasingly been shifting its crude oil exports to its Baltic ports, especially the relatively new port of Primorsk, which accounted for half of the exports through the Straits. An additional 0.3 million bbl/d of crude oil, primarily from Norway, flows eastward to Scandinavian markets. <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div> <div align="center" title="Map of Denmark and Danish Straits" style="page-break-inside: avoid;"><img src="images/da-map.gif" alt="Map of Denmark and Danish Straits" border="0" style="" class="cabs_graphic" /></div> <p></p> </div> <div>Source: <span class="place"><span class="country_region">U.S.</span></span> Government<p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div>About one-third of the westward exports through the Straits are for refined products, coming from Baltic Sea ports such as Tallinn (Muuga), Venstpils, and St. Petersburg. <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> <div> <p></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Sources</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" class="cssContent"> C.I.A. World Factbook <br /> Eastern Bloc Research <br /> International Maritime Bureau <br /> Lloyd s List Intelligence <br /> Panama Canal Authority <br /> Petroterminal de Panama, S.A. <br /> Suez Canal Authority <br /> U.S. Energy Information Administration <br /></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Links</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" class="cssContent"><span class="cssHeader2">EIA Links</span><br /><a href="/countries/" target="_newWin">EIA - International Energy Data</a><br /><p></p><span class="cssHeader2">Other Links</span><br /><a href="http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&amp;doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&amp;AD=ADA319445" target="_newWin" class="ico_pdf">Chokepoints: Maritime Economic Concerns in Southeast Asia (National Defense University)</a><br /><a href="http://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre" target="_newWin">International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre</a><br /><a href="http://www.clarksons.com/glossary/?selectedLetter=A" target="_newWin">Clarksons</a><br /><a href="http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html" target="_newWin">Panama Canal Authority</a><br /><a href="http://www.petroterminal.com/" target="_newWin">Petroterminal de Panama</a><br /><a href="http://www.suezcanal.gov.eg/" target="_newWin">Suez Canal Authority</a><br /><a href="http://www.turkishpilots.org" target="_newWin">Turkish Maritime Pilots' Association</a><br /><a href="http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm" target="_newWin">U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea</a><br /><p></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" align="left"><span class="cssHeader1">Contact Info</span></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2" class="cssContent">cabs@eia.gov<br />(202) 586-8800<br /><a href="mailto:cabs@eia.gov">cabs@eia.gov</a></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>