IEA releases Hormuz reliance tool

The International Energy Agency on May 21 promoted an interactive data tool that compares countries’ reliance on oil and natural gas imports from the Middle East. The tool appears on the IEA’s data-and-statistics site under “Reliance on Middle East Oil and Gas Supplies by Country,” and the agency said it allows users to compare dependence by country as markets track disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz. The publication comes during a broader IEA push on Middle East energy-security data, including pages on Hormuz transit and maritime chokepoints. The agency’s website says the country tool was last updated on April 28. ### What exactly did the IEA publish? The IEA data tool is an interactive chart covering selected countries that either import the largest volumes of oil and gas from the Middle East or show the highest reliance on those supplies, according to the agency’s description. Users can switch between oil and gas, and sort countries by share, volume or region. (iea.org) The IEA says the “share” view measures imports from the Middle East as a share of domestic consumption and exports in 2017 and 2024, while the “volume” view shows total import volumes in 2024. Oil volumes are measured in metric tonnes and natural gas volumes in billion cubic metres, the agency says. (iea.org) ### How does the IEA define “reliance”? The IEA says reliance is defined as imports from the Middle East divided by the sum of domestic demand and exports. The agency says oil in the dataset includes crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined oil products. The IEA says the exporting countries counted as Middle East suppliers in the tool are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. (iea.org) The sources listed for the tool are IEA World Energy Statistics and Kpler data from 2025. ### Why is the Strait of Hormuz central to this release? The IEA says the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints. The agency says an average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil products were shipped through the strait in 2025, equal to around 25% of global seaborne oil trade. (iea.org) The IEA also says nearly 15 million barrels per day of crude oil passed through Hormuz in 2025, with China and India together receiving 44% of those exports. It says IEA countries imported about 29% of the crude oil moving through the strait, with Japan and Korea particularly reliant on those flows. (iea.org) ### What does the IEA say about gas exposure? The IEA says a closure of the strait would have major implications for gas markets because about 93% of Qatar’s LNG exports and 96% of the UAE’s LNG exports transit Hormuz. Together, those flows represent 19% of global LNG trade, according to the agency. (iea.org) The agency said on its Middle East markets page that the war in the region that began on February 28 has reduced global LNG supply by around 20%. It also said attacks on energy infrastructure and disrupted Hormuz flows have major implications for energy security and affordability. ### Where does this fit in the IEA’s broader response? (iea.org) The IEA says it is closely monitoring the market impact of the Middle East conflict and that member countries agreed on March 11 to carry out the agency’s largest-ever release of emergency oil stocks. The agency says cumulative oil supply losses from Middle East producers now exceed 1 billion barrels and more than 14 million barrels per day of oil production is shut in. (iea.org) The IEA’s country-reliance graphics remain available on its data-tools page, alongside separate pages on the Strait of Hormuz and Middle East maritime chokepoints. The agency’s Middle East markets page says its latest monthly Oil Market Report was published on May 13. (iea.org 1) (iea.org 2)