Cushing, Oklahoma isn’t exactly a household name. In fact, it’s likely that most of you haven’t even heard of the small desert prairie town that’s located in Payne County, Oklahoma. And with a population of only 7,700 people, why should you know about this seemingly anonymous place? Well, if you’ve been paying attention to the latest breaking news to emerge out of America’s crude oil industry, you probably know that Cushing will soon be among the country’s biggest oil hubs.
American Petroleum Industry Grows in Cushing
After stalling during The Great Recession, the oil industry is booming again in Cushing, thanks in large part to President Trump’s desire to rebuild the stagnant industry in America. As of February 15, 2019, the United States is now exporting 3.6 million barrels of crude daily, which is the most oil the country has exported since 2015.
Although some oil exporters are attempting to move production away from states like Texas and Oklahoma to more coastal regions of the United States, oil production still remains strong in the region.
A recently released article by Bloomberg studying the growth of the oil industry in Cushing indicates that the U.S. government is planning to build 4.8 million oil storage barrels in Cushing in the coming years.
The U.S. government also circulated a report suggesting that Trump plans to make Cushing one of the biggest oil hubs in the country. In the report, the government projects Cushing’s storage capacity at upwards of 77 million oil barrels.
Planned Pipeline Projects all Converge on Cushing
According to Bloomberg, there are six separate pipeline projects that will be built in Cushing, Oklahoma by 2020. The goal is to have Cushing exporting 2 million barrels of oil per day by late 2021.
These pipelines will move oil to cities like Houston, Memphis, Corpus Christi, and Plaquemine, Louisiana.
By far the biggest pipeline project currently on the construction docket in Cushing is a 4.5 million barrel storage facility being proposed by Keyera Energy Corp.
Spearheaded by companies like Keyera, Seahorse, TC Energy Corp, and Tallgrass Energy LP, some experts believe that crude oil storage could exceed 100 million barrels by the end of 2021.