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Suez Chokepoint ers waiting off the north coast of Egypt. have a greater impact today on world oil In the worst-case scenario, the recent markets than a closure of the Suez Canal Geography events in Egypt perhaps could have trig- itself. In The gered disruption of both the Suez Canal If a real disruption at the Suez Canal and the SUMED. Several different scenar- and the SUMED pipeline occurred, suffi - News™ ios might have occurred, placing the canal cient surplus oil is available to meet world and pipeline in jeopardy. The Suez and demand. Egypt produces no oil, so the SUMED are a critical source of Egypt’s in- only issue with the Suez Canal and the come, second only to its tourism revenues. pipeline is that the geography of oil trans- Neal Lineback The world will closely watch any future port would change. and Mandy Lineback Gritzner labor strikes that might occur in Egypt. According to the Business Insider article, Labor strikes temporarily could shut approximately one-third of all oil moved down operations at the Suez Canal or the by tanker navigates the Strait of Hormuz SUEZ SUMED. Prior to Mubarak’s resignation, chokepoint. Following it in order of impor- 6,000 workers staged a sit-in at the Suez tance based on amount of oil transported CHOKEPOINT Canal, but the protest did not disrupt op- through the chokepoints are: the Strait of Egypt’s stability and security remain erations. If other labor strikes should occur Malacca, the Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandab, uncertain. Amid calls by opposition sup- on a large scale in the future, the Egyptian Bosporus, the Panama Canal and the Dan- porters for the president’s removal, the economy would suffer, including the al- ish Straits. country erupted into widespread demon- ready fragile tourist industry. The world’s energy market depends on strations against the government in early As one historical example of disruption stability in its products’ transportation. 2011. of the Suez, Egypt closed the canal from Blockage of any chokepoint, particularly This action sparked speculation about 1967 to 1975 in response to the Arab-Israeli in the region around the Persian Gulf Egypt’s strategic position in the region and War, also called the Six-Day War fought be- and Red Sea, would interrupt the world’s led to the resignation of President Hosni tween Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria. oil transport pattern. Such threats, real Mubarak. With the military assuming con- During that time, oil tankers sailed around or imagined, would affect world energy trol of the government at least until na- the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip prices. tional elections are held in September, an of the African continent to reach the West. And that is Geography in the News™. uneasy peace has descended on the coun- In 2009, 16 percent of the cargo through February 25, 2011. #1082. try. Nonetheless, one of the many concerns the Suez Canal was petroleum (both crude Co-authors are Neal Lineback, Appalachian in the region is that a resumption of wide- oil and refi ned products). That amounted State University Professor Emeritus of spread unrest could jeopardize security to an estimated one million barrels per day Geography, and Geographer Mandy Lineback of the Suez Canal, which is an important (bbl/d). According to Eri Nikolai Stavs- Gritzner. University News Director Jane world oil chokepoint . eth, an analyst at Arctic Securities in Oslo, Nicholson serves as technical editor. While incredibly important and pro- Norway, disruption of the SUMED would viding passage for 30 percent of the oil that arrives in the United States from the Middle East, the Suez Canal is but one Oil Transit Chokepoints narrow strait (called “chokepoints”) through which oil passes on its way to oil-dependent countries. Ac- Danish Straits ©2011 cording to a recent article 3.3 million bbl/d by Business Insider, seven oil chokepoints of the Bosporus/Turkish Straits world are crucial to the 2.9 million bbl/d world economy. These Suez Canal/SUMED Pipeline chokepoints move 4.3 million bbl/d about half of the world’s oil produc- Panama Canal tion of 84 million bar- 0.8 million bbl/d Strait of Hormuz rels per day (bbl/d). 15.5 million bbl/d So far, the Suez Ca- nal has remained open Location of Chokepoint Bab el-Mandab through the recent un- bbl/d = barrels per day 5.0 million bbl/d rest. Egyptian troops re- Strait of Malacca 13.6 million bbl/d inforced the guards who protect the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean pipe- Geography in the News 02/25/11 T. Smith line (called the “SUMED”) Source:http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/Suez.html that runs alongside it. When fully loaded large tankers can- not navigate the canal, their Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/oil-chokepoints-suez-canal-2011-1#1-the-strait-of- oil is diverted to the SUMED, hormuz-1; and http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_07/b4215016314977.htm which transfers it to empty tank- ©2011 Maps.com.
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