Refinery to terminal conversions have, for the most part, occurred quietly. It’s a trend that hasn’t yet swept the market but is slowly beginning to pick up momentum. Companies like Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Petroplus have made headlines for such conversions but larger investment firms are slowly moving in to capitalize on such investments. Many conversions that have happened here in the United States are due to an excessive amount of shuttered refineries created from government subsidies back in the 1950s and 1970s. By the time crude prices collapsed in 1982, many of the smaller refiners were left at a disadvantage within the market at the hands of huge transportation and financial costs.

Now, these long shuttered and mostly unpleasant sleeping giants are being transformed into useful storage and distribution centers that can also accommodate water treatment facilities and other industrial uses. By breathing life back into these dormant sites, small communities are able to experience quality job growth and local tax revenue from these tracts of land.

As the world’s largest consumer and importer of oil, it is essential that local refiners can continue to run efficient operating budgets while local economies can reap the benefits of the transformed sites. However, as the demand for fuel continues to rise in industrializing nations like China and India, such conversions may have some competition from abroad. In the

Wall Street Journal’s online edition, Ben LeFebvre speaks to a new phenomenon of Asian firms seeking to “expand their fuel-making capacity” through “cheaper” means by purchasing ex-refineries, tearing them down and exporting the components.

Currently our job market is hemorrhaging and our countries responses to creating new opportunities for American citizens are pithy. It’s clear that no community wants to have a shuttered refinery within their city limits, but if it could be commissioned to supply a varied amount of talent and economic feasibility, why would we want to export American benefits to a competing economy?

ICOSA worked with industry insiders to follow a current terminal to refinery conversion happening in Fruita, Colorado. Pick up the next issue of ICOSA, Infrastructure: Building Tomorrow...Today or visit www.theicosamagazine.com for the story "Converting Refineries to Terminals".

Defined by the grit and the grime when oil once gurgled out of the earth, the oil and gas industry has been filled to the brim with old-fashioned masculine moxie for over a century. But just as production has been redefined over the years, so too have the faces of the industry, and it’s starting to look, well, more refined. While the confines of The Petroleum Club in Houston exudes old world comfort and luxury — a place where if the walls could talk they would reminisce of the days of a good ole’ boys club — a new era has been ushered in.

At the entrance to the grand ballroom of the Houston Petroleum Club, donning a polished black skirt-suit with impeccable style and a smile that would give warmth to a hearth in winter, strolls Nell St. Cyr, the club’s out-going president. “Hello, welcome to the Club,” she exclaims as she welcomes guests into the room.

Unlike those before her, St. Cyr, is the first female President of Houston’s long-standing and prestigious Petroleum Club. Selected out of eight other nominees, St. Cyr was responsible for overseeing the board, board meetings and operational matters with the staff of the club. “Being selected was such an honor. So many people were supporting me among the membership and most importantly the employees,” said St. Cyr.

St. Cyr’s appointment as president comes after almost 68 years of male representation at the city’s historic club. This monumental shift in leadership garnered recognition for St. Cyr by the Dallas-based organization Women That Soar (WTS), focused on celebrating the achievements of “legendary women” as a Legacy Award nominee. St. Cyr was grouped with Former First Lady of Mexico, Marta Fox, Former President of the Women’s National Basketball Association, Donna Orender and Princess Reema Bandar of Saudi Arabia, to name a few.

The award was eventually given to St. Cyr. The organization’s CEO, Gina Grant, said, “She won the award because she was the first female to be president of the Petroleum Club. It’s a legacy she has set; it paves the way for other women in that club and in other organizations where the leadership is predominantly male. It tells women that no matter what barriers there are that they can do it too.”

The honor of being recognized for her achievements meant a great deal to St. Cyr . “I grew up in the energy industry. My dad was a landman and my uncles were with major oil companies as well. I was what you would call an oil field brat. So it was just a natural fit for me to be in the petroleum industry, and I am filled with pride to follow in that legacy,” she said. “I believe WTS recognized that the petroleum industry is still male dominant but that we’re working to increase the amount of women in the field. We need to cultivate and increase our voice and our reach to garner interest with young people,” she finished.