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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.

Adam Miller, Area Operations Manager, Texas Refined Products System for Flint Hills Resources, got his start in the terminal industry after spending four years in the military after college. Miller found a job at a petrochemical company as a reliability engineer—a role that eventually led him to pursue a project manager position within Flint Hills Resources (known at the time as Koch Pipeline).

“I transitioned from the project manager role to various leadership roles, such as maintenance manager, operations supervisor and operations manager,” Miller said. “These leadership roles gave me my first experiences with the terminal industry. The best part of my job is helping my team enhance their capabilities and reach their full potential. It brings me a lot of fulfillment to see them succeed.”