Oil and Gas Pipeline Networks

Oil and natural gas move around the world through an extensive infrastructure of pipelines, tanker fleets, and a small number of maritime chokepoints whose disruption can ripple through global energy prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration identifies the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, as the world's most important oil chokepoint, carrying roughly a fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption at various points in the 2010s and 2020s, while the Strait of Malacca between Indonesia and Malaysia and the Suez Canal in Egypt handle large volumes of tanker traffic connecting Middle Eastern and Asian markets to Europe and beyond. Overland pipelines complement this maritime system by moving crude and gas directly from producing fields to refineries, storage hubs, and consuming markets, often across multiple national borders.