The woman of oil: more men than women work in the oil industry, but women are making rank and breaking glass ceilings.

• Author: McGhan, Debra

When it comes to oil, it's not just a man's world any longer. From loading tankers to human resources to vice presidents and presidents, women are making a huge impact on this previously male-dominated industry.

The common threads among the women on today's Alaska petroleum scene include many factors. All positive. These are genuine, likeable individuals with bold, positive spirits and fascinating stories.

From a striking berth operator who ties up 2,000-ton tankers and loads them with oil; to a soft-spoken viola player that is redesigning Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.'s entire operation; to a vivacious, proud mother of two in charge of Pipelines and Prudhoe Bay Operations for Phillips Petroleum, these women are moving and shaking in the oil world.

"I think women are very good at multi-tasking and collaborating," said Kathleen O'Connell, system renewal lead for Alyeska Pipeline. "And it's something I do a lot in my job today."

O'Connell's current position involves rebuilding Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. from the ground up after almost 200 people were cut from the staff in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Valdez. Her job is to streamline operations by reducing costs. A good fit because during the past 20 years she has worked in numerous areas of the oil world and has a firm understanding of every facet.

"I worked with Exxon for 15 years and during that time I landed the engineers' dream job. I was a facility engineer for a large gas plant and it was my job to run the plant and maximize the profits," explained O'Connell. "To do that I had to understand every aspect of the plant and its abilities, as well as study the futures market to see what prices might do."

After five years with Alyeska, O'Connell now has a good understanding of pipeline operations. One of her duties included running the power vapor plant at the pipeline terminal in Valdez.

"From a technical side, the power vapor plant is a very interesting process involving a highly trained, highly skilled staff. A place where you can see an almost immediate impact based on the value of work effort."

Her appreciation of people, their talents, skills and energy makes her current job--which includes laying off staff--a tough challenge. "Any time you cut it's going to be hard," she said. But rising costs and declining product requires streamlining operations and cutting the budget.

"The circumstances within Alyeska have changed over the past 20 years and what made sense 20 years ago doesn't...