Oil glut is a strain on West Texas storage tanks

New York

FOUR hundred miles from the near-overflowing tanks at the US oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, a second glut in the Permian Basin of West Texas is pressuring oil prices once again as pipeline disruptions strand millions of barrels in the region.

The Permian, the fastest-growing shale play, accounts for about a fifth of the country's total oil production, and is expected to produce about two million barrels of crude a day in May. The region houses over 20 million barrels of crude storage.

Stockpiles in the Permian have hit several records in the last four weeks, according to data from industry information provider Gens…