Nov 6, 2017– On Sunday evening a big earthquake stuck parts of Oklahoma, including Cushing, where a large quantity of Crude Oil and other hydrocarbons are stored. However thankfully no damage has been reported from the various tank farms, although some buildings did suffer structural damage. For those of you who may not know, Cushing has one of the largest Oil Tank and pipeline infrastructure in the world, with several pipeline crossings. There is a monument there that says “Pipeline Cross roads of the world”!
It is believed that about 80 million barrels of oil are stored in the area. However the population is just a little below 8000 people. It is the official delivery point for NYMEX futures contracts for WTI (West Texas Intermediate Crude) Oil. Previously the town also had two refineries , but today there are none. There are more than 11 oil pipeline companies that have pipelines that pass through the town!
Just a week back, around Oct 24, one of these pipelines broke and caused a spill.