The ongoing conflict with Iran has led to the Strait of Hormuz being mostly shut down, drastically reducing vessel traffic and impacting oil exports from Gulf states. Normally, the strait carries around 20 million barrels of crude and oil products daily, but current traffic is significantly lower. The East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia and the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline in the UAE are vital alternatives, but they cannot compensate for the lost capacity. The East-West Pipeline, expanded to a 7 million barrel ceiling in 2019, is underutilized due to infrastructure limitations. Meanwhile, Iraq, which exported 3.4 million barrels per day pre-war, is struggling with limited alternatives, and Kuwait has declared force majeure, unable to meet delivery contracts. Qatar's LNG exports, constituting 19% of global trade, are also entirely reliant on the strait. Although Iran has developed its bypass pipeline, sanctions have hindered its operation. Experts warn that building new pipelines would require hundreds of billions of dollars and years of construction, with no guarantee of improved security against drone strikes.