Which Countries Depend on the Strait of Hormuz? Oil Exports and Imports by Country

Which countries export oil through the Strait of Hormuz?

In 2025, 19.87 million barrels a day (mb/d) of oil passed through the strait, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) ^[1]. That was 14.95 mb/d of crude and condensate and 4.93 mb/d of refined products ^[1]. The flow came from eight exporters.

Saudi Arabia is by far the largest. It shipped 6.23 mb/d through the strait in 2025, including 5.43 mb/d of crude ^[1]. Iraq followed with 3.63 mb/d and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 3.24 mb/d ^[1]. Iran shipped 2.41 mb/d and Kuwait 2.37 mb/d ^[1]. Qatar, the Saudi–Kuwaiti Neutral Zone and Bahrain made up the rest ^[1].

The mix differs by country. Kuwait and the UAE export large volumes of products as well as crude ^[1]. Bahrain's 0.21 mb/d is all refined products ^[1]. Qatar matters most for gas: about 93% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports transit the strait, as do 96% of the UAE's ^[1].

Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have working pipelines that avoid the strait ^[1]. Iran's Goreh–Jask line has a reported capacity of 1 mb/d but is effectively not operating ^[1]. Kuwait, Qatar and most of Iraq have no route around the strait, Kpler notes ^[4].

How have Gulf exporters fared in 2026?

The closure that began on 28 February split the exporters into two groups ^[4]. Those with pipelines rerouted. Those without them waited for shuttle tankers.

Before the war, 83% of the region's crude crossed Hormuz, Kpler says ^[4]. In September the share was 60%. Another 23% loaded on the Gulf of Oman coast, mainly at Fujairah, and 17% left through the Red Sea ^[4]. Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline to Yanbu was pumping 5.8 million barrels a day on 6 October, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said ^[5]. Kpler had put August flows at about 2 million, similar to the line's pre-war use estimated by the IEA ^[5,1]. The UAE's pipeline to Fujairah helped lift loadings there from 1.1 mb/d to 2.7 mb/d ^[4].

Iraq has had a harder year. Basrah loadings fell to 98,000 b/d in May ^[6]. They recovered to 2.58 mb/d in September and about 2.90 mb/d by mid-October, against a 2025 average of 3.34 mb/d ^[6]. Kuwait is producing about 2 million barrels a day, against about 2.6 million before the war, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. chief executive Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah told Bloomberg ^[7]. Output fell below 1 million barrels a day early in the conflict ^[7].

Iran's exports have almost stopped. The US reinstated its naval blockade of Iranian ports on 14 July ^[8]. Iran loaded about 220,000–255,000 b/d of crude and condensate in August, according to Vortexa and Kpler estimates ^[8]. That compares with about 2 million b/d in March ^[8]. Qatar's LNG has been under force majeure since early March, now extended to the end of December ^[9].

Which countries import oil that passes through Hormuz?

Asia takes most of the oil. In the first half of 2025, 89% of Hormuz crude and condensate went to Asian markets ^[2]. That is the estimate of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) ^[2]. China, India, Japan and South Korea together took 74% ^[2].

China is the biggest single buyer. In the first quarter of 2025 it imported 5.4 million barrels a day of crude through the strait ^[3]. AFP reported the figure from EIA data ^[3]. India took 2.1 million, South Korea 1.7 million and Japan 1.6 million ^[3]. Europe received about 0.5 million and the United States about 0.4 million ^[3].

Volume is not the same as dependence. For China and India, Hormuz crude is one source among many. For Japan and South Korea, it is the core of supply. About 68% of South Korea's crude imports passed through the strait, AFP reported ^[3]. Japanese customs data showed 95% of Japan's 2024 crude imports came from the Middle East ^[3]. The IEA puts Europe's share of Hormuz crude at about 600,000 b/d, or 4% ^[1]. US imports through the strait were about 7% of its crude imports ^[2].

How has China coped?

China entered the crisis as the world's largest crude importer, averaging 11.6 mb/d in 2025 ^[20]. Its imports fell nearly 40% between February and May 2026, led by Middle East supply ^[20]. Imports from Iraq and Kuwait fell to zero in May, as neither can bypass the strait ^[20].

Stocks did much of the work. Refiners drew on inventories at about 1.6 mb/d in September, a record pace in Kpler's data ^[11]. China's crude imports were 9.03 mb/d in September, against 11.79 mb/d in March, Reuters columnist Clyde Russell calculated ^[10]. Pipelines from Russia and Central Asia add about 1 mb/d ^[10].

Buying is now picking up. Chinese firms may have secured at least 80 million barrels of Saudi crude loading in September–November, Kpler estimates ^[11]. Kpler also says replacing about 1 mb/d of lost Iranian supply will be hard ^[11].

How have India's refiners adjusted?

India leaned on Russian crude when Gulf supply fell, then turned back. Its Middle East imports rose 32% in September to 2.8 million b/d, the highest since February, according to Reuters vessel-tracking data ^[12]. Middle East crude made up 54% of the total ^[12].

Russian crude fell to 1.8 million b/d, and its share dropped to 33.5% from 46.6% in August ^[12]. Many Gulf barrels now leave by ship-to-ship transfer in the Gulf of Oman ^[12]. An Indian refinery source told Reuters that pricing and shorter voyages favour them ^[12].

How have Japan and South Korea replaced Gulf crude?

Japan was the most exposed large buyer. It depended on the Middle East for about 95% of its oil and began releasing stocks on 16 March ^[13]. In total it made about 50 days of consumption available ^[13]. Refinery runs fell to 67.7% of capacity in the week to 4 April ^[13].

Imports then shifted towards the US. Japan's imports from the Middle East fell 68% year on year in April and 21.4% in July ^[14]. Total crude imports rose 17% in July to 2.38 mb/d ^[14]. US crude reached about 879,800 b/d, and the Middle East share fell to 58.9% ^[14].

South Korea relied on Hormuz for over 60% of its pre-war crude imports, Vortexa says ^[15]. Saudi barrels rerouted through Yanbu softened the blow: Korea and China each took about 830,000 b/d of Yanbu crude in the second quarter ^[15]. Seoul announced the release of 22.5 million barrels from its strategic reserve in mid-March ^[15]. In mid-June its onshore stocks were less than 1% below seasonal norms ^[15]. Japan's had fallen to record seasonal lows ^[15].

By August, Korea had nearly restored normal volumes. It imported 91.34 million barrels, against 93.35 million a year earlier, KNOC data show ^[16]. The US was its largest supplier that month, and government freight rebates support non-Middle East cargoes ^[16]. Asia as a whole imported a record 2.35 mb/d of US crude in July, Kpler data show ^[17].

Korean refiners still need Gulf grades. Their plants were built for medium and heavy sour crude, and light US oil cannot fully replace it, one feedstock manager told Platts ^[16].

What does Europe depend on?

Europe takes little Hormuz crude but relies on Gulf fuels. About 17% of EU diesel supply is imported, mainly from Saudi Arabia, the US and India, according to Bruegel ^[18]. About 38% of jet fuel is imported, with Kuwait, India and the UAE the main suppliers ^[18]. EU jet fuel stocks fell below 70% of their five-year average by 20 May ^[18].

Middle East product shipments averaged 1.9 mb/d in September, against 4.7 mb/d before the war, the IEA says ^[19]. On 15 October IEA members agreed to speed up stock releases, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel ^[19]. Kuwait's Sheikh Nawaf linked Europe's emergency diesel and jet release to the loss of Kuwaiti fuel exports ^[7].

Gas is a second exposure. Just over 10% of Hormuz LNG went to Europe in 2025, about 7% of its LNG inflows ^[1]. Qatar's force majeure has helped push the TTF benchmark above €95 a megawatt-hour ^[9].

What to watch

• Hormuz diplomacy. Kuwait's Sheikh Nawaf says no pipeline or storage can replace the strait ^[7].
• Iraqi and Kuwaiti volumes. Both still rely on tankers crossing the strait ^[4,6].
• Chinese restocking. Kpler says stabilising Chinese inventories by December would need about 1 mb/d more seaborne imports ^[11].
• Asian diversification. Korean and Japanese purchases of US crude show how far buyers can diversify while freight stays high ^[14,16].
• European fuels. The IEA warns the diesel shortage could last well into 2027 ^[19].

Alupetra tracks crude flows and import trends every day in its market coverage, alongside daily Brent, WTI and Dubai prices.