Editor’s Note: This is the third in a multi-part series examining the fundamentals behind the structural transformation of the U.S. oil market and the downstream logistics challenges that are resulting.

In Cushing, Okla. – a town of about 9,000 people surrounded by tank farms and crude pipelines – the oil keeps coming.

The Payne County community proudly proclaims itself “pipeline crossroads of the world,” and while it is relatively easy to get oil to Cushing, it is not as easy to get it out. As the delivery and pricing point ...