Official Department of Energy (DOE) Briefing Energy Information Agency (EIA)

-U.S. consumes about 20 million barrels of oil per day, more than any other country in the world. -The U.S. only possesses about 21 billion barrels of oil reserves (or about 1.8% of the global reserves of oil). Therefore, the United States must import most of its oil from a few major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Iraq to name a few. -The Middle East possesses about 60% of the world’s remaining oil resources.

Water Transport: -Total oil supplies travelling the seas is about 43 million barrels a day.

– Located between the Malaysia and Indonesia near Singapore – Closes to about 1.5 miles at Philips Channel in the Singapore Straits portion of the waterway. – Roughly 12 million barrels of oil are transported through it daily (making it the second busiest oil “chokepoint”) – If it were blocked or closed, ships would have to travel another several hundred miles South to reach their destinations in Asia.

 According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Straits of Malacca are one of only a few “chokepoints” for the maritime transport of oil resources around the globe. It is estimated that about 11.7 million barrels of oil are transported daily through the strait.  The EIA defines "Chokepoints" as critically important to world oil trade because so much oil passes through them, yet they are narrow and theoretically could be blocked -- at least temporarily. In addition, "chokepoints" are susceptible to pirate attacks and shipping accidents in their narrow channels.

– Located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf (the connector between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean) – Closes to about 29 miles at its most narrow point, although oil tankers are limited by the shallow depth of the water in the Straits. – Borders Iran, United Arab Emirates, and Oman – About 17 million barrels of oil are transported through it daily (making it the busiest oil “chokepoint”) – Only method to move oil supplies from the Middle East to the open seas without using oil pipelines.

Bosphorus Straits – Located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea—connects Istanbul, Turkey with Russia and the open sea. – Less than a mile wide at several points (extremely narrow) – Has shown historical importance for both Russian and Ottoman/Turkish empires (remains today) – Other than through pipelines, is the primary transit point for Russian oil supplies to the rest of the world.

Suez Canal – Located between the Gaza Strip and mainland Egypt (separates the African continent from the Middle East) – Extremely narrow (it is single-lane travel, with 4-passing areas along its path) – Allows ships to move from the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean without travelling around the African continent. Panama Canal – Located in the middle of Panama, which separates South America from Central America. – Extremely narrow (it is single-lane travel, with several locks to raise/lower ships to sea level) – Allows ships to move from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean without travelling around the South American continent.

– Located at the mouth of the Red Sea, separating the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. – Borders Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea – About 3.3 million barrels of oil travel through daily – About 2.2 miles wide at its most narrow point called Alexander’s Strait.

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