Cushing Oil Stocks Sink to 21.6 Million Barrels as US Demand Surge Nears Critical Floor
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 12
Cushing Oil Stocks Sink to 21.6 Million Barrels as US Demand Surge Nears Critical Floor
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 12
Summary
Cushing, Oklahoma held just 21.6 million barrels of crude, leaving the US pricing hub only about 1.6 million barrels above the level where operators struggle to keep oil moving through the system.
Record US demand during the Iran war has drained Cushing faster than drillers can refill it, as America supplies buyers that would normally rely on Middle East crude and fuel.
The strain is spreading beyond Cushing: US diesel inventories recently fell to their lowest since 2003, gasoline stocks are about 5% below a year ago, and other US crude storage sites lost 7.2 million barrels last week.
Global buffers are thinning too, with rich-country oil inventories falling by 6.3 million barrels a day to 2.6 billion barrels—only about 100 million above operational stress levels, according to Capital Economics.
Analysts and industry executives warn that if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen soon, oil could climb above $90 toward $140-$160 a barrel in coming months, with US gasoline topping $5.
With America's oil hub nearly empty, is the world just weeks away from a full-blown global economic meltdown?
How will the impending oil shock reshape global alliances and the race for alternative energy sources?
U.S. Crude Oil Inventories at Critical Lows: Cushing’s Operational Minimums and Global Supply Shock Risks
Overview
Crude oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, have dropped to critically low levels, nearing their operational minimums. This scarcity is made worse by record U.S. oil exports and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, creating immediate risks for market stability and energy operations. As inventories approach these minimums, much of the remaining oil becomes unusable due to quality issues, since water and sediments settle at the bottom of storage tanks. This means the true usable supply is even lower than reported, tightening the market further and increasing the risk of supply disruptions and price spikes.