Danish, Turkish Straits critical to Europe’s crude oil and petroleum trade, according to EIA
The Danish Straits and Turkish Straits are vital to Europe’s crude oil and petroleum liquids supply, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a recent release.
The two straits facilitated the transportation of a combined volume of more than 5 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2016.
They are important chokepoints, which are narrow channels on broadly used global sea routes that are essential for global energy security. If a choke point becomes inaccessible, even for a short period, world energy prices can increase.
Approximately 3.2 million b/d of crude oil traveled through the Danish Straits in 2016, the majority of which came from Russia to Europe. Approximately 50,000 b/d moved from Europe, mostly Norway and the United Kingdom, through the Danish Straits to Scandinavian markets.
The Turkish Straits enabled the movement of more than 2.4 million b/d of crude oil and petroleum in 2016. 80 percent of the traffic was crude oil. The route is important for oil exports from Russia and other Eurasian countries such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Exports through the Turkish Straits have decreased since their peak of 3.4 million b/d in 2004. Use of the straits may increase as production in Kazakhstan increases. EIA expects Kazakhstan’s crude oil production to grow through at least the end of 2018 due to increased volumes from the Kashagan field.
