The only alternative to oil transportation by sea is oil pipelines on land or under the sea. Three oil pipelines can act as roundabouts through the Strait of Hormuz, including:
East-West pipeline of Saudi Arabia
The East-West pipeline, also known as Petroline, is operated by Saudi Arabia's Aramco oil and gas group. The pipeline is 1,200km long, connecting the Abqaiq oil processing center near the Persian Gulf to the port of Yanbu in the Red Sea.
The East-West pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 7 million barrels of oil/day. On March 10, Aramco said that about 5 million barrels of oil/day could be supplied for export, while the rest would be used to supply domestic oil refineries.
Since the Iran conflict broke out at the end of February, Saudi Arabia has increased the amount of oil transported through this pipeline. According to data from Kpler, in January and February, an average of 770,000 barrels of oil/day were transported through this pipeline. By March 24, this number had increased to an average of 2.9 million barrels/day.
However, the use of Saudi Arabian pipelines poses a risk of Houthi attacks. Houthies may target the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, and further the Indian Ocean.
Iran also warned that it could open a new front in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait - a 29km wide strait at its narrowest point - if there are attacks targeting Iranian territory or islands.
Abu Dhabi crude oil pipeline of the UAE
The Abu Dhabi crude oil pipeline is also known as the ADCOP or Habshan-Fujairah pipeline.
The 380km long oil pipeline connects Habshan - an oil and gas field in southwestern Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to the port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.
This pipeline, put into operation in 2012, has a capacity of about 1.5 million barrels of oil/day. It is not yet clear how much oil is being transported through this pipeline.
However, oil exports from Fujairah in the past month are said to have increased despite the Hoarmuz Strait being closed, reaching an average of 1.62 million barrels/day in March, up from 1.17 million barrels/day in February, according to analyst Johannes Rauball of Kpler.
Iraq - Turkey crude oil pipeline
The Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline, also known as the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, connects Iraq with Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
This oil pipeline has a capacity of 1.6 million barrels/day, currently transporting about 200,000 barrels/day.
Iraq is in the top 5 largest oil producers in the world and the 2nd largest country in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with an output of more than 4 million barrels/day.
Can these 3 oil pipelines replace the Strait of Hormuz?
No, according to Al Jazeera. The total capacity of the 3 pipelines is only about 9 million barrels/day, almost half of the capacity of about 20 million barrels/day of Hormuz.
In addition, these pipelines are located on land and within range of Iranian missiles and drones. This makes the pipelines vulnerable to attack in the context of conflict.
In theory, oil can be transported by truck, but this option is costly, slow and ineffective. A standard truck can carry from 100 to 700 barrels of oil/day, depending on the number of trips. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil require thousands of trucks and these vehicles can also become targets of airstrikes.
