Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Threats and alternative routes
Name
Past disturbances
Alternative routes
Sea mines were installed during
the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Terrorist threats post-September
11 2001.
East-West pipeline (745-mile
long) through Saudi Arabia to the
Red Sea.
Strait of
Hormuz
Disruptions from pirates are a
constant threat. There was a ter-
rorist attack in 2003. Collisions
and oil spills are also a problem:
there is poor visilibility due to
smoke haze.
Rerouting through the Lombok
or Sunda Strait in Indonesia. A
pipeline could be constructed
between Malaysia and Thailand.
Strait of
Malacca
Suez Canal was closed for eight
years after the Six Day War in
1967. Two large oil tankers ran
aground in 2007, suspending
traffic.
Suez Canal/
Sumed
Pipeline
Rerouting around the southern
tip of Africa (the Cape of Good
Hope: an additional 6000 miles.
Northbound traffic can use the
East-West oil pipeline through
Saudi Arabia. Rerouting around
the southern tip of Africa (the
Cape of Good Hope: an additional
6000 miles.
USS Cole was attacked in 2000,
and a French oil tanker in 2002.
Both were made off the cost at
Aden, Yemen.
Bab-el-
Mendab
There have been numerous past
shipping accidents due to the
strait's sinuous geography. Some
terrorist threats were made after
September 11 2001.
No clear alternative: potential
pipelines have been discussed,
incl. a 173-mile pipeline between
Russia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Turkish
Straits
Rerouting around the Straits of
Magellan, Cape Horn and Drake
Passage: an additional 8000
miles.
Panama
Canal
Suspected terrorist target
Source: US Department of Energy
The flow of oil is becoming harder to police, because trade in oil is
sharply on the rise. There is a growing geographical mismatch between
where demand is growing fastest (mainly China and India) and where the
potential for more supply is greatest (the Middle East). As a result, more
oil than ever is on the move. The oil trade between the major regions of
the world is expected by the IEA to be 55m b/d in 2030 (more than half
world oil output) or 35 percent more than today. This trade is carried by
