Cushing oil inventories remain near tank-bottom levels

Cushing’s commercial crude oil inventory remained near the minimum operating levels that can limit how much storage capacity is practically available, according to recent federal data. The inventory stood at 19.370 million barrels for the week ending July 17, 2026, in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s table released July 22, then fell to 18.599 million barrels for the week ending July 24 in the table released July 29.

Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, and serves as the physical delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude futures. That makes its storage levels important to the city’s oil-centered identity and to the broader market that uses Cushing as a pricing and delivery hub.

What the recent data show

EIA records show commercial crude inventories in Cushing at 18.957 million barrels for the week ending June 19, 19.666 million barrels on June 26, 19.614 million barrels on July 3, 20.044 million barrels on July 10, 19.370 million barrels on July 17 and 18.599 million barrels on July 24.

The figures are weekly commercial inventory estimates. They do not represent a count of crude that is necessarily available to move immediately from every tank or connected facility.

Why “tank bottoms” matter

Storage tanks and connected pipeline equipment generally need a minimum amount of crude to keep pumps and related infrastructure operating. Those minimum volumes are often called “tank bottoms.” If inventory approaches a facility’s minimum operating level, the facility may still contain crude while having less usable working supply than the headline number suggests.

EIA distinguishes between shell capacity—the total volume a facility is designed to hold—and working storage capacity, which accounts for the minimum volume that must remain in the tank and related infrastructure. Under normal operating conditions, storage facilities generally cannot be drawn down to zero.

That does not mean 18.599 million or 19.370 million barrels is an official tank-bottom threshold for every Cushing facility. Minimum levels can vary by tank system and facility.

Why Cushing’s number matters beyond the city

Cushing’s role as the WTI delivery hub means tight physical inventories can affect the relationship between WTI and the international Brent benchmark. EIA said the Brent-WTI differential briefly turned negative during parts of June and July, meaning WTI priced at Cushing moved above Brent during those periods. The agency described the pricing signal as consistent with unusually tight conditions near minimum working levels.

For residents and local businesses, the data confirm that Cushing remains central to the national oil system. They do not, by themselves, prove local job losses, tax changes, business closures, service reductions or utility effects.

What the federal review means

EIA is reviewing results from a pilot study intended to improve understanding of minimum working inventory levels at selected petroleum facilities. The review is not a new Cushing-specific storage limit, an order to operators or a completed rule.

The practical issue to watch is whether Cushing inventories rebuild a larger operating cushion in the coming weeks. Until then, the evidence supports careful monitoring of the hub’s weekly numbers and market signals—not a claim that the city’s tanks are empty or that a confirmed local economic disruption has occurred.

Sources

• EIA: What are tank bottoms?
• Pipeline & Gas Journal