The Little American Town Signaling a Red-Hot Oil Market
Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, the “pipeline crossroads of the world,” are falling to dramatically low levels.
There’s oil in them there tanks. But not as much as usual.
Photographer: JOHANNES EISELE/AFPTo understand what’s going on in the oil market, you can look at global supply-and-demand — big picture stuff like Saudi production and Chinese consumption. Alternatively, you can examine the small town of Cushing, Oklahoma, population 8,327.
Cushing calls itself the “pipeline crossroads of the world,” where traders of West Texas intermediate (WTI) oil store their barrels in dozens of tank farms spread on the town’s outskirts. These can hold 76.6 million barrels or nearly 15% of U.S. oil storage capacity. Right now, the Cushing market is flashing red — as in red hot as prices surge.