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Dr. Kathryn Clay, who is president of the International Liquid Terminals Association and holds a PhD in Physics from University of Michigan, knows a little bit about the world energy picture. Recently she spoke about the current and future outlook for fuels during a panel at the U.S. Energy Association’s Fifth Annual Advanced Energy Forum.

While liquid terminals may operate behind the scenes, they play a vital role in the world energy supply chain and are critical to getting fuels, agricultural products and other bulk liquid commodities where they need to be and when they need to be there. Kathryn told the audience that the U.S. could be a significant exporter of hydrogen produced from renewables if we can get permitting right.

Chester J. Bullard Jr. began his career in the terminals industry back in 1998 at Valero Refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. A few years later while Bullard was still with the company in 2001, Valero purchased Diamond Shamrock, which meant the acquisition of all associated logistics.

“Valero created a logistics group called Valero L.P., and I was fortunate enough to be able to move from the refinery side to the logistics group,” Bullard recalled. “In 2004, Valero L.P. was renamed to NuStar Energy. I was able to work in various roles at NuStar, eventually becoming General Manager over the Central West North Region.”

During that time, Bullard was able to gain valuable experience in both the pipeline and terminal business. Today, as Vice President of Operations and EH&S for Howard Energy Partners, Bullard says his favorite part of the job is his colleagues.

“Getting to work alongside so many talented individuals that make up a great team is what keeps me excited about our industry,” he said.

Dennis Mendenhall, CSP, began his journey with Marathon Petroleum back in 2006, where he worked as a safety professional in the Terminal, Transport, and Marine organization. Over the years since, he’s transitioned through multiple experiences that have included all aspects of EHSS. In these roles, Mendenhall has supported domestic and international operations in downstream, midstream, and upstream business units.

Today, as Safety Manager of Logistics and Storage Terminals for Marathon, Mendenhall finds the best part of his job to be the people he works alongside each day.

“I am afforded the opportunity to lead and collaborate with a great team of people,” he said. “This team has become like family and truly makes each day a pleasure through the teamwork and collaboration exhibited, regardless of the issues and tasks in front of us. This team, coupled with Marathon Petroleum’s culture—which places the value of the safety and well-being of each worker ahead of competing interests—makes it a remarkable place to work.”

Jay Leduc, Managing Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability for Sprague Energy, initially became involved in the terminal industry upon completing his undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

He began working as an Environmental Engineering Consultant for a large east coast consulting firm located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“As an Environmental Engineer I worked on many different issues for a variety of industries, from metals contamination on old junkyard lots, to large property transactions between banks, to environmental remediation of former military bases both in the US and Canada,” Leduc said.

He would eventually be asked to relocate to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, following the consulting firm’s purchase of a smaller firm located in the east coast city. It’s there Leduc was tasked with helping existing employees set up the new office and help spread the company culture to their newly acquired offices.

As the hydrogen economy races ahead, with substantial national and local incentives in place for developing both upstream and downstream technologies, there is a growing awareness of the need to develop the storage and distribution, or “midstream”, infrastructure required by the industry. California has reacted to this need by announcing that it will be creating and implementing a California Hydrogen Market Development Strategy, using an all-of-government approach to build out the hydrogen market. Complemented by the recent creation of California’s “infrastructure strike team”, this initiative includes provisions that help develop hydrogen storage and distribution that can support the growth in production and demand.