U.S. leaving Iran’s vital oil hub untouched

A tiny coral island through which around 90% of Iran’s oil exports pass has so far remained untouched in the U.S.-Israel bombing campaign – but striking it could send already surging oil prices sharply higher

KHARG ISLAND

Airstrip
East pier
West pier
Storage tanks
Residential area
OIl facilities
1km
0.6 miles

Located 24km off Iranian mainland; oil export terminal built by U.S. oil giant Amoco in 1960s, seized by Iran state after 1979 Islamic Revolution

Handles around 1.5 million barrels per day – volume surpassing output of most OPEC countries

Storage tanks hold up to 30 million barrels – around one-third capacity of giant U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma

Space to berth eight tankers; up to 10 million barrels of crude can be loaded per day

Oilfield
Oil pipeline
Gasfield
Gas pipeline
Oil refinery

IRAN
KUWAIT
Bushehr port
BAHRAIN
UAE
IRAQ
SAUDI ARABIA
QATAR
OMAN

Gulf of Oman
Strait of Hormuz
Persian Gulf
60 miles
100km

Sources: CIA, Bloomberg, Reuters
Picture: Google Earth
© GRAPHIC NEWS