Like huge watchful sentinels, towering tanks filled with oil or filling quickly with oil loom over Cushing and its immediate vicinity. Oil is less abstract here than it is in the rest of Oklahoma, where despite the state’s history in the energy sector, “black gold” is more often seen as an irredeemable boogeyman than it is as an industry that employs millions of people worldwide. Oil is a palpable presence in Cushing, even were one to pay no attention to the miles and miles of tank farms, storing oil from all across North America. In fact, it might be easier to see every one of the fewer than the 10,000 Cushing residents than it is to see every tank in every high-security tank farm.

“If you were to fly over Cushing, I’m not sure that you wouldn’t miss the community for all the tanks,” Brent Thompson, executive director of the Cushing Chamber of Commerce, told National Public Radio recently.

Oil and Cushing have been attached for generations. In recent years, however, culminating in today’s economic environment, it has become a troubling marriage within the industry and one that has some asking if Cushing’s days as Pipeline USA might just be winding down.

Welcome to the Boomtown

A wildcatter named Thomas B. Slick began an oil boom on March 17, 1912, when he brought in a gusher east of the town. Cushing became a center for oil exploration and production from nearby oil fields. At one point a couple of different refineries helped cement the town’s role as an energy epicenter. As the oil fields began to run dry, beginning in the 1940s, production and refining became less important. However, by then a maze of pipelines and tanks had been built and Cushing had become the nation’s pipeline crossroads. It was this status that led to the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) naming Cushing the price settlement point for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light “sweet” crude futures contract in 1983 – the benchmark price.

Over the course of its century-long relationship with the oil industry, Cushing might not have grown much, but it has prospered.

“As it was yesterday and in the past, (the oil industry) is extremely relevant to Cushing, and it plays a very significant role in the economy,” says Thompson. “That role has increased in the past year or so. As they have built more (storage) tanks, the owners have added manpower, which has increased expendable incomes and had a major economic effect. I think they are hiring as many local people as they can who are qualified. It all adds to our tax base. Our schools are almost to the point that if state funds were to go away, we’d be all right.”

But even the most expert industry insiders assert that understanding the oil industry is no easy thing and that predictions are precarious.

“Historically, Cushing has been the center point for oil in America,” says Mike Cantrell, president of the Oklahoma-based Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (DEPA).

“Historically, it has been where prices are set. What’s changed is that asset has become a liability.”

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Refinery

Oil isn’t like other products or even like other commodities. Its price and availability are not entirely market-driven. Into that equation one must weigh the roles of a global cartel, the dynamic of varying grades and means of extraction, the effects of limited supply, geopolitical realities and even the role of investment speculators. In the end, one might say, it is more akin to Nixon’s “beast”-like national security entity than it is to, say, corn.

“No one really understands how the oil markets work,” says Brad Carson, director of the National Energy Policy Institute and University of Tulsa professor.

“It’s not understood because the reserves are underground; no one knows where or how much is there. Plus, financial markets are involved. It’s not a market that’s freely traded – it’s controlled by a cartel.”

But experts do generally agree on the situation in Cushing. Perhaps that’s because it’s one of the more easily fathomed aspects of the industry nationwide.

Fundamentally, the future of the validity of the WTI Cushing benchmark price is in question because the amount of oil arriving at the pipeline crossroads of the world has been setting records, while relatively very little is being piped out. In fact, there are currently no outflow pipes at all to the massive refineries on the Gulf Coast. So instead of being shipped off and transformed into useful form, most of the oil being piped into Cushing is, instead, being warehoused in massive and constantly expanding tank farms.

“Crude can get in and can be shipped to some places, but not south,” Carson says. “That has led to the glut in Cushing. There is simply more coming in than can affordably be shipped out. The result is the storage that’s going on in Cushing. And then spot prices fall.”
Cantrell says that industry figures began seeing a problem with the imbalance in Cushing several years ago and that “we began worrying in 2009.”

“The first thing that started the glut is that no new refineries have been built in many, many years,” Cantrell says. “Most recently the flow of Canadian oil coming to Cushing has contributed to the problem.”

Canada is the largest foreign exporter of oil to the United States, accounting for some 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. That number has only been increasing in recent years because of new findings, Alberta’s rich oil sands and a controversial new means of extracting oil from once-daunting topographies. Also contributing to the increased inflow have been the early phases of a new pipeline system connecting Canadian crude to U.S. oil flashpoints. TransCanada’s $13 billion (when complete) Keystone system had an immediate effect on oil prices at the Cushing hub.

“As soon as we opened up the first phase of Keystone, prices instantly dropped,” says TransCanada spokesperson Shawn Howard.
Although an imbalance between intake and outtake at Cushing is the reason most cited by experts for the current glut, other factors also come into play.

“ConocoPhillips has one of the largest refineries in the U.S. (in the Midwest), and they have a line from the coast to Cushing, but they aren’t reversing it for outflow,” Cantrell says.

According to a Dow Jones Newswire report, Conoco could almost immediately alleviate a portion of the Cushing glut with a reversal of its Seaway pipeline, but it appears not to be in the company’s financial interest at the time.

If there is one other factor contributing to the bottleneck in Cushing, it is this: There is plenty of room for oil to be stored, and that capacity is increasing constantly. The energy transporter and distribution giant Enbridge has mammoth holdings in tank farms in Cushing, as does Tulsa-based Magellan Midstream Partners, among others. Both have expanded their holdings in recent months.

“In response to the marketplace demand for it, we’re building more merchant storage in Cushing,” says Enbridge Inc. spokesperson Larry Springer.

“Various entities have contracted with us for storage, and mostly they are long-term contracts. This is our third round of new tank construction.”

Furthermore, Springer says he is well aware that the handful of other companies that own Cushing oil tank farms are busily expanding, too.
In an email in response to an inquiry about the company’s recently expanded role in Cushing oil storage, Magellan Midstream Partners’ director of government and media affairs, Bruce Heine, wrote, “We are currently building 4.25 million barrels of crude oil storage in Cushing, which is underpinned by long-term commitments by our customers. The project is currently on schedule and expected to be operational in phases beginning second quarter 2011, with the final tanks in service by the end of 2011. If we obtain appropriate commitments from our customers in the future, we will be happy to build additional storage.”

Magellan Midstream Partners did not reply to requests for follow-up information.

Whatever the exact combination of influences has been, Cushing’s oil glut has brought down the price of Cushing oil. It is perhaps ironic that the simple rule of supply and demand comes into play in the complex world of oil prices, but it does. Contributing to the irony is that, in this case, depressed regional oil prices might not be a good thing, however counter-intuitive that might seem with gas prices hovering close to $4 a gallon.

Economic Well-being Doesn’t Grow On Tank Farms

There are a couple of problems with depressed crude prices in Cushing, and there are numerous entities that can be hurt by it.
“You could argue that the real loser is Cushing’s status as oil benchmark,” Carson says. “As the WTI price becomes severed from other benchmark prices, the less important it will be. Anyone selling oil denominated by WTI benchmark prices will get hurt.”
Carson explains that global benchmark prices should be roughly comparable.

“Brent Crude and Louisiana Light, for example, should be about equal, but WTI has gotten out of whack because of the glut,” he says. “Oklahoma producers are competing in a global market, except the price (of WTI) is artificially low. Companies selling will take a hit because of the WTI benchmark.”

The price difference between the coasts and Cushing has ranged to $20-plus less inland. The result has been damaging to regional oil interests. But the real threat might still be on the horizon, when producers simply bypass Cushing in order to go to market where they will get higher prices. The effects could be devastating to Cushing and to Oklahoma and regional providers who would have to pay more to transport product with no assurance that they could make up the difference in coastal sales.

“Right now it is costing Oklahoma $70 million a year in lost tax revenue and $700 million in negative economic impact,” Cantrell says.
Still, there appears to be no obvious villain when it comes to the precarious position of Cushing and WTI-denominated crude. Insiders agree that most parties warehousing oil are legitimately in the industry.

“We don’t discuss who our customers are, but they are a mix of producers, refiners and others who store and sell oil for purposes,” Springer says.

Carson says that the only parties he sees with any potential benefit from the Cushing glut are the owners of the tank farms. But, of course, they are only responding to demand.

Cantrell says that some of the held oil is surely owned by speculators holding onto it to earn greater returns in the future. But that percentage would seem to be minor considering that estimates are that Cushing is housing a whopping 10 percent-plus of the U.S. inventory. Furthermore, even industry entities reserve oil to take to market later, and it has not before resulted in a glut such as that in Cushing today.

In another bit or irony, residents of the inland western U.S. region might enjoy slightly lower gas prices – in exchange for the damage to the entire regional energy sector. Should producers eventually bypass Cushing, the gas price differential could rapidly fade away.
Outflow is the solution to the Cushing glut, and if the White House approves its plans, TransCanada has committed to addressing that situation with its Keystone XL phase. In late March, Cantrell says that the company agreed that it would construct the pipeline component connecting to the gulf coast before other additional components. It was a victory considering that DEPA had long been afraid that American oil wouldn’t have that access.

Howard says that the White House’s delay in approving the Keystone XL project is a contributing factor to the oil glut. In the end, he says, the company believes that everything comes down to market demand.

“As the U.S. economy recovers, demand will go up again,” Howard says.

Whether it is a result of a timely international pipeline, of several market forces, or even if it’s because of entirely unforeseen prompts, Brad Carson believes that the arcane oil market will re-set itself.

“WTI will get back in line with Brent,” he says. “Over time, it will balance out. It always has. If I had a bunch of trucks, I might go (haul some oil).”

In the meantime, construction of new and expanded oil tanks in Cushing goes on, and Pipeline U.S.A. is booming.
“We’re rolling,” Thompson says. “Once building stops – and no one knows when that will be – we’ll continue to be here. It will still be better than it was before.”

Heart disease kills a woman every minute. Four times as many women succumb to heart attacks, strokes or other related events as do to cancer. It is the nation’s most prevalent disease and women largely overlook it. While the bad news is that heart disease may very well affect someone you know, the good news is that it is not only treatable, but it’s also largely preventable.

The month of May marks the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, dedicated to educating women about the signs and atypical symptoms of heart disease women experience that can often be misdiagnosed.

“Like in men, heredity is very important, but to a major degree, heart disease is a lifestyle disease,” says Dr. Gary Badzinski with OSU Medical Center.

“It is contributed to by improper diet, lack of exercise, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”

While it is important to understand that women can experience the classic symptoms of a heart attack – tightness in the chest, discomfort or numbness down the arm – issues often manifest differently in women.

“One of the things I always stress is that women can have the classic symptoms of a heart attack,” says Dr. Mary Ann Bauman, with Integris Health in Oklahoma City.

“However, women can have more subtle symptoms – pain between the shoulder blade and back. Decrease in exercise tolerance, nausea and overwhelming fatigue can also be signs of a heart attack.”

According to Bauman, it’s more difficult to diagnose heart disease in women because the signs can mimic stress and anxiety.

“Strong family history, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, sedentary lifestyle and smoking are the most common heart disease causes,” says Dr. Jamal Hyder, with St. John Internal Medicine Specialty Group.

“A physician usually evaluates a patient for heart disease with a thorough medical history and risk identification for the development of coronary artery disease.”

Tests include stress tests, EKGs and a carotid ultrasound. The important thing, experts say, is to recognize the atypical signs sooner and act on them instead of making excuses.

“Women tend to ignore their symptoms of angina more so than men,” Hyder explains. “They tend to have atypical presentations like shortness of breath, discomfort in the neck and jaw or may have a gassy feeling. Since they do not seek medical attention earlier, the chances of a fatal coronary event are greater for women.”

“If you’re over 40 and you begin to feel these atypical symptoms, you need to start asking yourself, ‘Do I have a blockage?’” says Dr. Wayne Leimbach, a cardiologist with the Oklahoma Heart Institute.

Campaigns such as the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women are targeted at educating women on recognizing and taking seriously any abnormal symptoms they may experience.

If classic or atypical signs of a heart attack are occurring, Hyder recommends taking aspirin and getting to the doctor’s office immediately.
“If angina is suspected, it should not be ignored. The earlier you get to the hospital, the sooner treatment can be started quickly without causing any damage to the heart.”

“Time loss is brain loss,” adds Bauman. “Getting to the hospital sooner saves lives.”

According to Leimbach, prevention requires taking your health into your own hands and knowing your risk factors.

“Prevention starts early,” he says. “Blockages can start as early as the teen years. If you have a family history of heart disease, you can get a carotid ultrasound. It’s very low-risk and runs about $40. EKGs allow us to see if there’s any damage to the heart and can serve as a good baseline for any future treatment. Of course, those at the highest risk are those with high blood pressure, diabetes and smokers.”

Reports have suggested that quitting smoking can decrease a person’s chance of chance of heart disease by 50 percent. Diet also plays a large part in prevention. A low sodium diet – the AMA recommends the DASH Diet – can aid in lowering blood pressure.

“Americans eat enormous amounts of salt,” Leimbach says. “Start trying a low-salt diet. Forget egg yolks, too. They have almost 500 grams of cholesterol. That’s the equivalent of eight to 10 Big Macs’ worth of cholesterol. Cheddar cheese and ice cream are probably the biggest offenders in the American diet and are huge culprits of saturated fat.”

Cutting out the worst diet offenders and striving for 30 minutes of exercise each day can help boost cardio function. These are just a few easily implemented changes that can have a big impact on your health.

“There are online tools that you can use to assess your risk of heart disease,” says Badzinksi. “A search engine will allow you to find these by entering ‘cardiovascular health risk calculator.’ The AHA now recognizes women who exhibit greater than 10 percent risk of heart disease over 10 years as high risk.”

“When you educate the women, you educate the whole family unit,” Bauman believes. “Women need to understand the need for changes.

With heart disease and things like childhood obesity on the rise, we may be seeing the first generation of children that might not live as long as the previous generation.”

Bauman advises that when it comes down to starting a routine for a healthier life, the best thing to do is get your body moving.
“If you move, it will lead to changes in all aspects of your health.”

Stress Triggers

“By appearance, I’m probably one of the healthiest people you’ll meet,” says Leah Ashlock, owner of Carbon Pilates in Tulsa.

“I run like crazy, I like to work – I own the largest Pilates facilities in this part of the country. I’ve trademarked my own Pilates technique. I have 11 percent body fat. I just don’t look like the traditional person who suffers from heart disease.”

But heart disease is exactly what made this 39-year-old mother of three slow down and take inventory of her life after suffering from a mini-stroke.

Ashlock, a self-proclaimed workaholic who frequently burns the midnight oil, has high blood pressure – a condition shared by her mother – that is triggered by stress.

“I like to work, often to the detriment of my body,” she says. “I knew that I had high blood pressure, but that was always when my body is in stress – either from pregnancy or undergoing a surgery.

“I started having headaches and spotted vision. You would think with my knowledge of the human body, I would think something was wrong. I didn’t. There were always excuses – if I was lightheaded it was because I hadn’t eaten, if my vision was blurry, it was because I needed an adjustment. I just wasn’t paying attention to what my body was trying to tell me.”

While at a friend’s house, Ashlock began to feel ill with a headache and was seeing spots. Chalking it up to being tired from working non-stop, she continued about her day, even stopping at Target to pick up a magazine.

“The last thing I remember is seeing a sign for 101st Street. I was later found eight miles from there. I somewhat remember waking up not being able to lift my head up. I have an emergency button in my car that called my parents. They couldn’t understand what I was saying. I had thick tongue. When the medics arrived my blood pressure was 168/122. I had a severe mini-stroke.”

Doctors put Ashlock on blood pressure medication but she started to pass out from it since her blood pressure was stress-related.

“It was so frustrating at the time. The medication switching was horrible. I’m more of an all-natural kind of person. It’s taken me a long time to come out with this. Because of my career, there was a lot of shame and embarrassment.”

Today, Ashlock has learned to recognize the signs of when she’s becoming too stressed and she has taught herself boundaries.

“When I became involved with the American Heart Association and the Go Red for Women campaign, I wanted to share with other women that you don’t have to be obese to be affected by heart disease. You can be the picture of health. Women have this mentality that we have to take care of everyone else first and take care of ourselves last. We have to be selfish – we have got to put ourselves first.”

Since her stroke, Ashlock has found ways to reduce her stress, has hired a personal assistant and has modified her work schedule to bring work home only a couple of nights a week. When she feels her stress levels rise, she takes breaks by walking around Brookside or shopping. Ashlock also has modified her diet – which was already healthy – to be even more heart-conscious.

“There are so many women out there that are killing themselves slowly due to stress,” says Ashlock. “You don’t have to be stereotypical to have heart disease. All women should be aware of the signs and symptoms. Don’t ignore what your body is trying to tell you.”

A Unique Heart

A dental hygienist, mother of four and a hardcore Jenks football fan, Robin Burch never really let anything slow her down, but she couldn’t force her body to keep going sometimes.

With a double chamber right ventricle, a condition diagnosed in only 100 others in the U.S., fatigue and an accelerated heart rate were frequent occurrences.

“I never knew what it was until last year,” Burch says. “I never really noticed how it affected me until I went to my doctor for my once-a-year check-up. My heart had never sounded good – doctors would often bring others in to listen because the murmur sounded so bad.”

It was at this visit that the murmur had gotten to a point that could no longer be ignored. At almost 50, it was time for Burch to make an appointment with a cardiologist to find out exactly what her heart was trying tell her.

“I had always been healthy – I never let my heart condition prevent me from doing anything. I would run and work out, and try to be active,” she says. “But my heart rate would increase really fast and I would be short of breath, even after months of working out. I would always hear that what I was experiencing was abnormal, but I think that sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking our normal is normal and you don’t think of these things being symptoms of something abnormal.”

When Burch met with a cardiologist, he ran several tests, including a stress test and heart catheterization that lasted nearly three hours. Burch’s heart problems put her into a rare class of individuals: Her right ventricle produced two different pressures.

“To put it in perspective, it would be like putting a catheter into a balloon and receiving two different pressures.”

The double chamber right ventricle is so rare that there are no specialists in Oklahoma who handle these cases.

“It was either going to be the Mayo or Cleveland Clinic,” Burch says. “My husband saw an ad in the Wall Street Journal for the Cleveland Clinic’s top rated heart program for the past 15 years.”

After much discussion and planning around her favorite high school’s football season, Burch and her husband made an appointment with a surgeon who had performed 20 procedures on similar cases. The fact that Cleveland is home to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame was the final selling point for Burch.

In May 2010, she met with the specialist at Cleveland Clinic who ran several tests. Burch’s numbers were on the edge for those who should consider surgery.

“I’m an all or nothing kind of person. We where there, I wanted to go for it,” she says. “When the doctor walked out from the surgery, he told my husband that there was going to be a huge difference. The part that was closing in was about the size of a dime. He opened it up to be the size of a half dollar. They also discovered two holes in the atrium that could’ve led to a stroke.”

Burch checked in to the hospital on a Tuesday and left the following Monday, feeling like a new woman. She has since completed the Tulsa Run 5k race and has been skiing twice.

“It’s been such a huge change! I can work longer, I run longer. I’m so glad I had the surgery.”

Today, Burch wants to get the message out that your “normal” may not be so normal after all.

“If you have a question, go to the doctor and find out. Don’t ignore it. For years, I would be out of breath and take asthma medication. I struggled for years, and it was because of my heart – I just didn’t know it. Trust your instincts and get yourself checked out.”