oil prices plunge 25% as tanks in Cushing Oklahoma, nations largest storage facility, fill.

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https://www.ft.com/content/51d2f6a5-1a71-4c1c-b022-8768fdb72519

Oil world zeroes in on Cushing, Oklahoma
Dramatic crude plunge this week put the humble storage hub in the spotlight

https://www.ft.com/content/51d2f6a5-1a71-4c1c-b022-8768fdb72519

Cushing, Oklahoma, population 7,800, has a steakhouse, a burrito restaurant and a KFC. It also has America’s most important complex of oil storage tanks. 

The prospect that those monumental tanks might soon be full to the brim rocked global markets this week. The US benchmark oil price plunged below $0 for the first time in history, sparking debate and recriminations across the industry that put the humble city in the spotlight. 
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Companies such as Plains All American Pipeline, Enbridge and Magellan Midstream Partners have invested heavily to add tanks on the north and south ends of town. Working storage capacity has increased by more than half in the past decade to 76m barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration. The added space has accommodated surging volumes of oil pouring in from shale formations and Canada. 

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U.S. oil prices plunged nearly 25% on Monday on fears that worldwide storage will soon fill as the coronavirus pandemic continues to roil demand.



West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 24.56%, or $4.16, to settle at $12.78 per barrel, after earlier trading as low as $11.88. International benchmark Brent crude fell 6.76% to settle at $19.99. Each contract is coming off its eighth week of losses in nine weeks.

WTI for July delivery fell more than 14% to $18.18 while the August contract slipped more than 9% to $21.50, suggesting the Street doesn’t see a meaningful recovery in the next few months.

“The market knows that the storage problem remains and we are on a calculated path to reach tank tops in weeks,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy. “Actions are needed now as the problem stopped being theoretical and far away. The storage clock is ticking for producers and we are approaching the final countdown if no further action is taken.”

WTI, the U.S. benchmark, has fallen more than Brent as traders eye the quickly filling tanks at Cushing, Oklahoma, which is the nation’s largest storage facility apart from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s also where the contract is priced. U.S. stockpiles rose by 15 million barrels to 518.6 million barrels for the week ending April 17, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/27/oil-news-crude-wti-brent-prices-today.html