No substitute for Strait of Hormuz
The rising tensions over holding a ten-day naval drill in the Persian Gulf, aimed at showing Iran's capability in blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the global oil transfer is carried out, has raised debates over probable substitutes for the Strait. Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that some 17 million barrels of crude oil is transited through the 21-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz per day, equivalent to 35 percent of the total oil transportation of oil through open seas. Each day, at least 17 oil tankers are sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Some, 85 percent of the oil consignments, which pass through the Strait, are destined for Asian markets such as China, India, South Korea and Japan. Iran is currently exporting up to 2.15 million barrels of crude oil (Its total oil export) through the Strait. So, closing it would be a suicide attack for Iran and would lead to outrage of major oil importers such as Ir