This year’s ILTA International Operating Conference features Hurricane Sandy roundtable, keynote speech by baseball Hall of Famer Ripken, latest oil shale update
The International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA) will hold its 33rd Annual Conference and Trade Show in Houston, Texas from June 3-5 at the Hilton Americas- Houston and George R Brown Convention Center.
Experts from the terminal industry will share their perspectives, strategies, tools, and tips for increasing operational effectiveness, managing business issues, and improving safety and environmental performance. The conference will feature more than 30 speakers, 32 sessions, and four workshops.
One of the highlights of the annual conference is the presentation of the ILTA Safety Awards at the Tuesday, June 4, networking breakfast. ILTA will recognize selected companies for their outstanding safety performance records in 2012. Winners are chosen based on their total reportable incident records as reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and based on their responses to a questionnaire designed by ILTA’s Safety Award Program Committee.
Roundtable discussion
On Monday, June 3 from 8:45-9:45 am, the conference will feature “In the Wake of Hurricane Sandy: A Roundtable Discussion,” with moderator Jim Benton of the New Jersey Petroleum Council and speakers Jack McCrossin, CITGO Petroleum Corporation; Alice Lippert, US Department of Energy; and Frank Westfall, New Jersey District, US Department of Homeland Security.
With winds up to 115 miles per hour, Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the secondcostliest hurricane in United States history. In all, 285 people died in the storm as it moved through the Caribbean and up the East coast of the United States.
The storm had a major impact on industrial facilities that lay in its path, including chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and tank storage terminals. Severe fuel shortages came in the wake of the storm, reportedly exacerbated by bad state and federal government policy and poor planning.
Keynote luncheon
Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr will be the keynote speaker on June 4 from 11:30 am-1:15 pm, with a theme of, “The Keys to Perseverance.”
Ripken, who retired from baseball in October 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, was one of only seven players in history to achieve 400 home runs and 3000 hits. Regarded as baseball’s “Iron Man,” he broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played (2130) in 1995 and voluntarily ended his streak in 1998 after playing 2632 consecutive games.
On July 29, 2007, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving the third-highest percentage of votes in history and the highest vote total ever by the BBWAA.
In 1999, Babe Ruth League Inc. changed the name of its largest division (5-12 year-olds) from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball. Presently, over 700,000 youths play Cal Ripken Baseball worldwide.
Now Ripken is using the platform that baseball has provided him to help grow the game he loves at the grassroots level. After his playing career ended he started this effort with the construction of a one-of-a-kind baseball complex in his hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland.
The Aberdeen Project consists of Ripken Stadium and the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy. Ripken Stadium is a state-of-the-art minor league ballpark that is home to the Aberdeen IronBirds (www.IronBirdsBaseball.com) the Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Ripken Youth Baseball Academy hosts ballplayers and teams from across the country for camps and tournaments during the spring, summer, and fall.
The academy is also the permanent home of the Cal Ripken World Series played each August. It includes 16 teams of 11- and 12-year-olds from all over the world and crowns the champion of the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth League Inc. The team from Japan captured the 2011 Cal Ripken World Series title.
In addition, Ripken Professional Baseball owns the Augusta (GA) GreenJackets, the Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants as well as the Charlotte (FL) Stone Crabs, the Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Ripken Professional Baseball also runs the business operations for the Tampa Bay Rays’ spring training site in Port Charlotte, Florida.
In the fall of 2007, Ripken was named as a Special Public Diplomacy Envoy to the US State Department. In that role he travels the globe and uses baseball as a tool to spread goodwill. In October 2007, he traveled to China with former teammate BJ Surhoff in this role and in November 2008 he visited Nicaragua with former teammate and Nicaraguan native Dennis Martinez. His most recent trip came in November 2011 when he and former teammate Brady Anderson visited Japan and spent time with the children impacted by the great earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of Japan in March 2011.
Due to the success of the Aberdeen complex as a tournament destination and the desire to grow the game of baseball worldwide, Ripken opened the Ripken Experience complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This complex hosts youth baseball tournaments with teams across the United States.
Ripken is also a best-selling author and public speaker. His books have all landed on various best seller lists and he currently has five books to his credit: The Only Way I Know; Play Baseball The Ripken Way; Parenting Young Athletes The Ripken Way; The Longest Season and Get In The Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make The Difference.
In the spring of 2011, his first novel hit bookstores. Hothead, the first in a series of baseball themed novels for middle-grade kids, is published by the Disney Book Group and reached #5 on the NY Times Best Seller List. The next book in the series, Super-Sized Slugger, will be in stores in March of 2012.
He is also a spokesman for several well-known brands across the country including Energizer, Under Armour, Rawlings, Comcast, State Farm Insurance, Ripken Power Shred, and Chevy.
Featured speaker
Jeffrey Currie, global head of Commodities Research in the Global Investment Research Division of Goldman Sachs, will appear June 3 from 12:05 pm-1:35 pm, speaking on the topic, “The Global Impact of US Shale Oil Development.” He will discuss how the shale oil boom is reshaping the US energy market. He will also address the key issues surrounding the increased output of shale oil and the impact on terminals.
Currie is responsible for conducting research on commodity market dynamics in the context of corporate risk management programs, short- and long-term commodity investment strategies and asset allocation. He is also a member of the GIR Client and Business Standards Committee and the ECS Executive Committee.
Previously, he was the European co-head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research from 2010 to 2012 and based in London, where he resided since 2003. Over the years, the commodities research team has consistently been ranked number one under his direction and in 2011 he was named the CNBC Analyst of the Year by City A.M. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and was named managing director in 2002 and partner in 2008.
Prior to joining the firm, he taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in microeconomics and econometrics at The University of Chicago and served as the associate editor of Resource and Energy Economics. He also worked as a consulting economist, specializing in energy and other microeconomic issues, at Ernst and Young LLP and Economic Insight Inc. In addition, he has advised numerous government agencies in the United States, European Union, and Russia.
He earned a PhD in economics from The University of Chicago in 1996.
Monday sessions
The first morning of the conference features:
• One-hour breakout sessions at 10 am: “Rethinking Engineering, Procurement & Construction: The BORCO Project,” Joe Sauger, Nate Werner, and Clint Johnson, Buckeye Partners; “The Panama Canal Expansion and Other Critical Issues for US Ports,” Col Leonard Waterworth, Port of Houston Authority; “Mitigating Cyber Threats: Tools for Improving Computer and Network Security,” David White, Civitas Group, and Michelle Valdez, CERT Cyber Resilience Center.
• Three sessions from 11:05 am-12:05 pm: “Tank Overfill Protection: Evaluating the Revised API 2350 Standard,” Charlie Lewis, TransMontaigne, and Johan Sandberg, Rosemount Tank Gauging; “Waterway Suitability Assessments: Business Development and Operating Considerations for LHG,” Jon Sawicki, Witt O’Brien’s, Ann Hayward Walker, SEA Consulting Group, and Lt Cdr Xochitl Castañeda, US Coast Guard; “Regulatory Enforcement Actions: What to Expect and How Best to Respond,” John King, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson.
• Three sessions from 1:35-2:35 pm: “Maximizing the Storage Capacity of Internal Floating Roof Tanks,” Lennar Perez, CITGO Petroleum Corporation; “NGL and Crude Oil Storage: Strategies for the Build-Out Phenomenon,” Anne Keller, Wood Mackenzie; “Ensuring Due Diligence in Dealing with Vacuum Truck Hazards,” Rick DeFend, Marathon Petroleum Company, and Rick Pitman, PSC Industrial.
• Three sessions from 2:40-3:40 pm: “Corrosion in the ULSD Distribution System: Implications for Terminal Operators,” Andrew McKnight, Innospec Inc; “Qualities of a Leader: What Every Great Manager Needs to Know,” Walter Nusbaum, Nusbaum, Inc; and “Hazardous Waste Treatment: Conducting Third Party Audits to Reduce Risk,” Sharon Crabb, Barbara Johnston and Andrew Sly, Kleinfelder.
• Three sessions from 4-5 pm: “Mechanical Integrity Programs: The Case for a Proactive Approach,” moderator Randy Vaughn, Railroad Commission of Texas, speakers Rafael Rengifo, Phillips 66, Justin Monroe, Chevron, and Dan Winston, Kinder Morgan; “Hot Topics in Employment Law: NLRB, EEOC, Social Media, and ObamaCare,” Barham Lewis and Tim Verrall, Ogletree Deakins; “The Incoming US Regulatory Tsunami,” Peter Weaver, ILTA, Jeff McGill, Sunoco Logistics Partners; and Mike Santee, CITGO Petroleum Corporation.
Tuesday sessions
The second morning of the conference features:
• One-hour breakout sessions from 9:20-10:20 am: “Demonstrating Operator Competence: A Key to Enhancing Workplace Safety and Culture,” Kevin Smith, Murphy Oil; “Tips for Building Successful Teams and Keeping Top Employees,” Charlotte Stallings, Baker Communications; “MTSA Regulatory Outlook,” Don Bruce, Houston Area Maritime Security Committee.
• Three sessions from 10:25-11:25 am: “Moving from Operator to Manager: Skills for Effective Leadership,” John Roller, NuStar Energy; “America’s Second Industrial Revolution: The Renaissance of U.S. Chemical Manufacturing,” Dan Borné, Louisiana Chemical Association; “Determining Storage Tank Emissions for Heated Oil and Asphalt,” Jeff McGill, Sunoco Logistics Partners, Elizabeth Herberg, Sprague Operating Resources, and Traci Johnson, International Matex Tank Terminals.
Post-conference workshops
• Tuesday, June 4, 2-5 pm: “Air Emissions: Loading Operations,” instructor Rob Ferry, The TGB Partnership.
This half-day workshop focuses on air issues pertaining directly to loading operations
• Wednesday, June 5, 8 am-5 pm, and Thursday, June 6, 8 am-2 pm: “Advanced Tanks: Air Emissions,” Ferry. This course provides a detailed look into air emissions issues relating to the design, construction, and inspection of above-ground storage tanks. It will address regulatory compliance, emissions calculations, and recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
• Wednesday, June 5, 8 am-5 pm: “Crisis Communications Training,” The Ammerman Experience. This one-day, highly interactive workshop will help terminal company personnel develop the skills they need for a successful encounter with the news media. The training will also include a discussion on the use of social media and how it is changing communication and crisis response. Corporate communications employees, senior executives and directors and managers who could find themselves as a media contact are encouraged to attend. Due to the hands-on nature of this training, class size is limited.