ILTA provides a lifeline for members

ESSENTIAL SERVICE

ASSOCIATION • KATHRYN CLAY, PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL LIQUID TERMINALS ASSOCIATION (ILTA), EXPLAINS HOW ILTA AND ITS MEMBERS ARE COPING WITH THE COVID-19 CRISIS

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has put a lot of things into perspective, from the way we live and work to the meaning of health, family and community. It has also helped make evident the vital nature of liquids terminals.

Liquids terminals serve as a critical logistics link in the fuel supply chain, allowing the ultimate consumer to access products such as gasoline, diesel, chemicals and liquid foods. Governments have deemed terminal workers – and many of the workers responsible for transporting products to and from terminals – essential employees. Some may ask why?

The reason is simple, especially when viewed in light of a global health crisis. Without terminals, there is no way of ensuring adequate supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel so that emergency supplies and food can be delivered by plane or truck and that emergency personnel can travel to work. Without terminals, we can’t manufacture sterile surgical gowns, masks, the N95 respirators, IV lines and intubation equipment. All those products are made from petrochemicals, derived from oil and gas, and stored and transported through terminals.

INTEREST IN STORAGE During the pandemic, terminals – particularly tank storage terminals – have become a focal point of the oil industry. With drivers heeding public health guidance to stay at home, gasoline demand plummeted. At the same time, producers, especially Russia and Saudi Arabia, flooded the market with crude oil. The result was a dramatic drop in world oil prices and sharp increases in the amount of crude oil in storage.

Market analysts, who in recent years gave only a passing nod to weekly storage inventory reports, began reporting on them in earnest. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the US Energy Department, even expanded its weekly report to include estimates of US crude oil storage capacity utilisation.

And the market itself began taking extraordinary action. Pipeline operator Enterprise Products Partners began offering two-way shipping along a crude oil pipeline connecting the Gulf Coast and storage terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma, in a move to give oil companies more storage options to cope with the global supply glut and rapidly filling storage stocks. And oil traders were storing record volumes of oil on ships as onshore storage filled.

FIND SOLUTIONS On the operational side, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges for terminals. But liquids terminal operators found solutions to safely continue with their vital operations - and keep supplies flowing seamlessly - during the pandemic, even while they were taking precautions to protect workers and contractors.

The industry is doing things it has never had to do – in some cases, full-service tank fill-up for tank trucks, limiting work to focus on critical tasks and outfitting all workers in full PPE – to ensure that the terminals can stay safe and open for business to continue their essential services.

Among other things, ILTA members have taken the following actions to ensure that their personnel are protected, and operations continue safely: - Following government and Centers of

Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for practicing personal hygiene and social distancing important for minimising the spread of Covid-19 - Following CDC and regulator guidance on healthy operations of terminals, including at ports and harbors and at truck loading racks - Developing and updating company plans to minimise health risks and continue operations safely - Staying in close contact with fellow terminal operators to exchange information on best practices for continued operations and worker safety during this challenge - Staying in close contact, either directly or through ILTA, with regulators and other federal, state and local government officials to exchange information, identify challenges and resolve issues to ensure continued safe operations, critical to Covid-19 response - Working with allied industries, like truck drivers and fuel distributors, either directly or through ILTA, to confront challenges presented during the pandemic to ensure safe, efficient operations and protect health of all employees and contractors.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS The pandemic also presented challenges to ILTA as an organisation. And it forced us to find new ways to communicate and find solutions for our members.

Among other things, ILTA began weekly terminal operator calls to allow terminal members to hear the latest updates on industry responses to Covid-19. These calls provide an opportunity to brief participants on regulatory, Congressional and state activities, and operational issues. They also allow members to direct questions to the group on things like personal protective equipment availability and other worker safety issues.

ILTA also set up two additional new ways to communicate with its members. Our Covid-19 Peer Exchange is an online platform to allow terminal company professionals to post questions, respond to posts from others, and to share availability of newly released documents, upcoming webinars, or other resources relevant to the tank terminal industry. ILTA also created a dedicated webpage on its site with links to government sites, industry pandemic preparedness plans and other resources. We’ve designed this page to make it easy to quickly access key resources, and we update it as new resources become available.

ILTA remains in close contact with regulators and other federal, state and local government officials to exchange information, identify challenges and resolve issues to ensure continued safe operations, critical to Covid-19 response.

CONFERENCE POSTPONED Another major challenge was ILTA’s annual conference and trade show, the industry’s largest, originally slated for June. In mid-April ILTA opted to shift the dates to 16-18 November.

We based this decision on what we have heard from our members and our exhibitors, and we’re confident this is the best way for ILTA to serve the industry during these unprecedented times. Safety is always a priority for our industry, and our decision to shift the event to later this year is guided by that. We know how important our annual event is to tank and terminal professionals and to the companies that provide them with products and services. We want our industry community to know that we are here for them.

As ILTA chairman Kip Middendorf, who is also vice-president and managing director of Wolf Lake Terminals, noted when we

KATHRYN CLAY, ILTA PRESIDENT (RIGHT): THE PANDEMIC

HAS FORCED ILTA TO FIND NEW WAYS TO COMMUNICATE

WITH MEMBERS, WHO ARE WORKING HARD TO MEET made the decision: “For many companies, current constraints are causing planned construction, inspection and maintenance work to be delayed until later this year, or even into early 2021. The new timing for our annual event will make sure terminal company decision-makers have the opportunity to see and purchase products and services they will need for that work.”

Kip also pointed out that moving the dates allows ILTA members, working hard to meet the challenges of Covid-19, “to participate in the valuable information and educational opportunities presented during the conference”. More information about the conference and trade show is also available on the ILTA website.

I’m extremely proud of ILTA’s members – and the entire terminal community – and all their workers for the important contribution they make to keep vital supplies flowing during extremely difficult times. I join in wishing all communities safety and health as the situation continues to evolve, and I hope to see you all in Houston in November. www.ilta.org