Global Oil and Gas Highways: Pipelines, Sea Lanes, Chokepoints and War's Rerouting
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Enerdealers Editorial
Crude oil, refined products and LNG reach global markets through a complex network of pipelines, tanker routes and strategic chokepoints. For traders, brokers, refiners and intermediaries, mastering these logistics arteries is critical to pricing differentials, hedging freight risk and spotting arbitrage amid disruptions like the Ukraine war, which has dramatically reshaped Russian flows.
This article maps the world's primary energy transport corridors, their capacities, vulnerabilities and trading implications. Understanding how barrels and cargoes move—or get rerouted—directly impacts spreads, cracks and compliance strategies in today's sanctioned, volatile markets.
Pipeline Backbone: Land Routes for Crude and Products
Pipelines offer the lowest-cost, highest-reliability option for bulk energy transport over land, shaping regional benchmarks and access to tidewater.
Major Crude Pipelines
Druzhba (Russia-Europe): Spanning 4,000-5,000 km from Almetyevsk to refineries in Germany, Poland and beyond, Druzhba historically carried 1-1.5 million bpd of Urals and Kazakh CPC blend to Europe. Ukraine war disruptions ended Ukraine transit by 2024, slashing volumes and forcing reliance on the southern branch to Hungary/Slovakia.
Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC, Kazakhstan/Russia-Black Sea): Delivers ~1.7% of global supply (1.8 million bpd peak) from Tengiz/Kashagan to Novorossiysk, but war-related sanctions and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure have prompted Kazakh diversification via rail and Trans-Caspian routes.
Saudi East-West (Petroline): 5 million bpd capacity from Abqaiq to Red Sea port Yanbu, bypassing Hormuz for Europe/Africa exports during Gulf tensions.
North America: Keystone (Enbridge/TC Energy systems) and expanded Trans Mountain (890,000 bpd post-2024) link Canadian WCS/heavies to USGC and Asia-Pacific tidewater, narrowing discounts.
Product pipelines mirror these, linking Gulf Coast/North Sea refineries to inland consumers, with expansions unlocking export parity.
Seaborne Dominance: Tankers and Strategic Chokepoints
Over 60% of traded oil moves by sea on VLCCs, Suezmaxes and Afra fleets from Persian Gulf, USGC, West Africa and Russian ports.
Key Export Basins
Basin | Key Grades/Volumes | Primary Destinations | Route Notes |
Middle East Gulf | Arab Light/Extra Light (20M bpd) | Asia (70%), Europe (20%) | Hormuz → Malacca/Suez |
US Gulf Coast | Condensates, light crudes (5M bpd) | Europe/LatAm/Asia | Panama/Cape/Suez |
Russia Baltic/Black Sea | Urals (post-war pivot) | Asia (80%+), stranded EU | Shadow fleet via Gibraltar/Malacca |
West Africa | Angola/Nigeria lights | US/Europe/Asia | Cape route flexibility |
Critical Chokepoints
Strait of Hormuz: 21 million bpd (21% global petroleum liquids); Saudi/Iraq/UAE exports. Disruptions spike Dated Brent risk premia.
Bab el-Mandeb/Suez Canal-SUMED: 5-7M bpd Middle East-to-Europe; Red Sea attacks reroute via Cape, adding $1M+ per VLCC voyage.
Strait of Malacca: 16M bpd ME-Asia crude; congestion risks reroute via Lombok (+freight).
Bosporus/Dardanelles: Russian/Kazakh Black Sea exports to Med (~3M bpd pre-war).
Panama Canal: USGC-Asia flows; 2023-2025 droughts diverted cargoes, widening Pacific spreads.
Freight surges from rerouting (e.g., Red Sea avoidance) directly widen Dubai-Brent and lift ton-mile demand.
Ukraine War: Rerouting Russian Flows
Russia's 2022 invasion triggered G7/EU bans on seaborne crude (Dec 2022), products (Feb 2023) and $60/bbl cap, flipping exports from 40% Europe to 80-86% Asia (China 2.1M bpd, India).
Pipeline Shifts
Druzhba's Ukraine leg halted; 2025 Ukrainian strikes (fifth on Taganrog-Lipetsk) reduced southern flows to Hungary/Slovakia. Remaining Russian crude loads at Ust-Luga/Primorsk (Baltic) and Novorossiysk (Black Sea), bypassing Ukraine.
Pipeline gas via Ukraine ceased Jan 2025; TurkStream sole Europe link.
Shadow Fleet Emergence
400-600 uninsured/ageless tankers (flags: Panama/Liberia) evade caps via ship-to-ship (STS) at Fujairah, Malaysia, CEAF regions. Baltic-Asia voyages now traverse Gibraltar-Suez-Malacca; Black Sea via Med-Cape of Good Hope.
Blending disguises Urals origin; transshipments to Malaysia/Turkey launder to China/India. Exports held ~7.5M bpd despite 440+ sanctioned vessels.
Gas/LNG Pivot
Nord Stream offline post-sabotage; Yamal LNG swings to Asia on ice-class shadow carriers. Arctic LNG 2 cargoes to Dahej/Dalian offset EU re-export bans.
Trading Impact: Two-tier market—compliant at Brent/Dubai vs. dark discounts ($10-20/bbl Urals). Intermediaries need shadow expertise, non-Western LCs; geopol premia embedded in spreads.
LNG Corridors: Flexible Global Chains
LNG (~500M tonnes 2025) trades on 165M cbm fleet, arbitraging basins.
Exporter | Volume (2025) | Routes | Notes |
US Gulf/East | 95M tonnes | Atlantic (52% Europe), Panama/Cape-Asia | Flexible destinations |
Qatar | 80M tonnes | Hormuz-Suez-Europe (20%); Malacca-Asia (80%) | Red Sea avoidance ↑ |
Australia | 80M tonnes | Malacca-North Asia | Contract-heavy |
Russia (Yamal/Sakhalin) | 30M tonnes | Arctic-Asia (post-EU ban) | Shadow for sanctioned projects |
US-Europe direct; Qatar-Asia avoids Red Sea. War boosted US/Europe volumes 50%+.
Route Risks Shape Trading Strategies
Freight/Differentials: Cape reroutes +20-30% ton-miles; shadow ops add $2-5/bbl insurance voids.
Arbitrage Plays: War stranded Druzhba refineries → US/ME imports; Kazakh CPC curbs → BTC/rail to Greece.
Sanctions Compliance: Shadow trades demand 3rd-party finance, blending hubs; Trump-era secondary sanctions hit India/China buyers.
Practical Tools:
Track chokepoint AIS via Kpler/Vortexa.
Hedge ton-miles with FFA/FFAs.
Model shadow discounts: Urals = Brent - ($10 freight premia + $5 compliance).
Kazakhstan Angle: Diversifying Amid Russian Chaos
Kazakhstan routes blend CPC (80% exports pre-war) with Atasu-Alashankou (China), Aktau tankers (Trans-Caspian to BTC) and Druzhba II. Refined products (~2M tpy) target NL/Turkey/Greece; post-2030 refinery doublings eye 30% exports. War spurs non-Russian paths, narrowing to Europe/Asia arb windows.
Energy highways evolve with shocks—traders who map pipelines, fleets and shadows thrive.
Final Takeaways for Energy Traders
The global energy transport network—pipelines like Druzhba and CPC, chokepoints from Hormuz to Suez, and shadow fleets born of sanctions—forms the physical foundation of every trade, spread and crack. Ukraine war disruptions prove routes are not static: they pivot under geopolitics, creating discounted Urals flows to Asia, LNG arbitrage from US to Europe, and Kazakh diversification plays.
For Enerdealers' audience, success lies in real-time route monitoring, freight hedging and compliance navigation. Whether pricing shadow discounts or Cape reroute premia, those who treat logistics as a core P&L driver will capture the next shock's alpha. Energy highways evolve—master them or get stranded.
Sources
Council on Foreign Relations – "Free Flow of Oil, Strait of Hormuz, and Policing International Sea Lanes" (2018, updated context).
Global Energy Monitor – "Druzhba Oil Pipeline" (Jan 26, 2026).
SynMax – "2024 Sea Change in LNG Routes" (May 1, 2025).
U.S. EIA – "The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil transit chokepoint" (Nov 20, 2023; 2025 updates).
Trans Mountain – "Expansion Project Overview".
S&P Global – "Qatar LNG may be set to avoid Red Sea" (Jan 15, 2024; ongoing).
U.S. EIA – "Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical" (Jun 15, 2025).
Canada Energy Regulator – "Oil pipeline throughputs for 2024 and H1 2025" (Dec 14, 2025).
GIIGNL – "LNG Routes and Market Trends".
Strauss Center – "Strait of Hormuz - Other Chokepoints".
Economic Times – "Impact of sanctions on Russian energy exports following Ukraine war" (Aug 17, 2025).
Voice of Ukraine – "Kremlin's secret plan: Druzhba pipeline shutdown" (Jan 13, 2025).
Hermes-Kalamos – "Russia's Shadow Fleet: A Maritime Network to Evade Sanctions" (Aug 11, 2025).
OSRL – "Russian Sanctions and the Laws of Unintended Consequences" (Apr 23, 2022).
Kyiv Independent – "Ukraine strikes Druzhba oil pipeline again" (Dec 3, 2025).
Windward – "Russia's Shadow Fleet's Been Busy" (Feb 26, 2025).
The Guardian – "Trump sanctions impact Russian oil & gas" (Oct 26, 2025).
The Moscow Times – "Ukraine Struck Druzhba Pipeline for Fifth Time" (Dec 3, 2025).
Al Jazeera – "Rogue tankers off Singapore: What are shadow fleets" (Dec 19, 2025).
Brookings – "Stiffening European sanctions against the Russian oil trade" (Aug 20, 2025).
User memory – "Main routes for exporting Kazakhstan petroleum products" (Feb 7, 2026).
User memory – "Kazakhstan petroleum exports destinations, volumes 2020-2025" (Feb 7, 2026).
