How Much Oil Goes Through the Strait of Hormuz?
In normal conditions, about 20 million barrels of oil a day move through the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 20 percent of global petroleum liquids and about a quarter of the world's seaborne crude. That is the textbook figure. As of July 3, 2026 (Day 125), it is not the live one: the strait is open but contested, and traffic is running at ~35-70/day vessels, down from a pre-crisis norm of about 94 a day.
The normal figure vs the live figure
Most published answers quote the long-run average, roughly 20 million barrels a day, and stop there. During the 2026 crisis that number is a ceiling, not a count. Effective flow collapsed after the February 28 blockade, fell to a trickle around the June 10 closure, and has only partially recovered under the fragile ceasefire in place since June 28, 2026. The honest current answer is a range, ~35-70/day, because some of the vessels still moving run dark and are not fully AIS-visible. The strait is rated Contested: Passable but under threat: a fragile or partial ceasefire, reduced and reversible flow, an armed standoff.
- Open Normal commercial flow, roughly 94 vessels a day, no material war-risk premium.
- Strained Traffic continues but insurers and owners price in elevated risk; some reroute.
- Contested Passable but under threat: a fragile or partial ceasefire, reduced and reversible flow, an armed standoff. ← now
- Disrupted A material share of traffic halted by attacks, mining, or sustained closure of part of the channel.
- Closed No meaningful commercial transit; the chokepoint is shut by blockade, mining, or declared closure.
What flows through the strait
The bulk is crude oil and condensate from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran, and Qatar, plus a large share of the world's seaborne LNG, most of it from Qatar. For most of these exporters there is no pipeline that can carry the volume around the strait, so the chokepoint is effectively the only route to seaborne markets in Asia and Europe.
Why the volume matters for oil prices
Because roughly a fifth of the world's oil rides through a single 21-mile passage with no realistic bypass, any drop in throughput tightens global supply directly. That is why a contested or closed strait raises crude prices worldwide, and why Brent is trading near $71.62 rather than its pre-crisis level. The volume question and the price question are the same question seen from two ends.