Products thru the Strait of Hormuz

 

The primary products furnished through the Strait of Hormuz are crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and agricultural fertilizers. Historically, this narrow waterway serves as the world's most critical maritime energy chokepoint, facilitating the massive resource exports of Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran, and Qatar to international markets—overwhelmingly servicing demand in Asia. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The main commodities shipped through the Strait and their respective shares of global demand include: [1, 2, 3]

1. Crude Oil and Petroleum Products

• Volume: Historically, an average of 20 to 21 million barrels per day (mb/d) of petroleum liquids pass through the Strait.
• Global Demand Percentage: This volume represents roughly 20% of total global oil consumption and between 25% to 30% of all seaborne-traded oil worldwide. According to the ⁠International Energy Agency (IEA), it accounts for nearly 34% of global crude oil trade specifically. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• Volume: The Strait is the primary exit vector for Qatar, one of the world's largest LNG exporters, carrying over 90% of its gas shipments.
• Global Demand Percentage: Roughly 20% of the global LNG trade transits through the waterway. [1, 2, 3, 4]

3. Fertilizers and Chemical Inputs

• Products: The Persian Gulf is a central global manufacturing hub for nitrogen-based fertilizers, specifically urea and ammonia.
• Global Demand Percentage: Roughly 30% of all internationally traded fertilizers move through the Strait. The concentration is sharpest for urea, where the region supplies approximately 45% to 46% of total global trade, making the waterway a vital artery for global agricultural food supplies. [1, 2, 3, 4]

4. Industrial Metals and Elements

• Products: The passage supports regional industrial exports, primarily aluminum and sulfur (crucial for metal refining).
• Global Demand Percentage: The region supplies about 16% of global alumina/aluminum trade. Additionally, significant portions of the global commercial supply of helium—essential for cooling MRI machines and manufacturing semiconductor chips—rely on this transit corridor.