The Strait of Hormuz doesn't have the pull it did a few months ago. Global interest in the waterway, as measured by the number of Google searches, peaked in April, when oil flows through the waterway were at a trickle and everybody wanted to know why oil prices were suddenly above $100 a barrel. There was another spike of interest in August, when Iran was holding out for tough terms for reopening the Strait.

In recent weeks, though, people following the news are getting acquainted with new chokepoints. As oil flows through the strait recovered, attention shifted west, where Saudi Arabia's efforts to reroute some of its oil exports have created new vulnerabilities.

Iran-aligned Houthi rebels are taking aim at the flow of oil from Saudi ports on the Red Sea. Then, in recent days, drone strikes from Iraq led Saudi Arabia to shut down its crucial East-West pipeline, driving the latest runup in oil prices.