Kinder Morgan’s Barrois discusses terminal expansion project, enhancements to safety awareness

For C.J. Barrois, the general manager of Kinder Morgan’s liquid and bulk terminals in Louisiana and Florida, a broad knowledge of industry best practices and customer needs is critical for carving out success in his role.

Barrois assumed this role three years ago and is responsible for the operation, environmental and safety aspects of each facility he oversees.

"Operational and financial knowledge of the terminals, an understanding of the customers’ needs as well as an understanding of the markets and regulations that impact and govern our business, are important for this position," he said. "In order to be successful, it’s important to build a strong team comprised of commercial, operations, EHS and finance groups, and equip them with the tools to succeed."

In January 2001, energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, which would later become Kinder Morgan Inc., purchased Delta Terminal Services Inc. for $114 million.

At the time of its acquisition, the New Orleans Terminal — now known as the Harvey Terminal — had a total storage capacity of 2.5 million bls. It’s located on the 98.5-mile point on the Mississippi River, close to the Harvey Canal and the Crescent City Connection, formerly the Greater New Orleans Bridge.

Serving the corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Kinder Morgan’s Harvey Terminal is situated on 100 acres of land and has since been expanded to a storage capacity of 3 million bls.

The Harvey Terminal provides services such as loading and unloading by vessel, barge, tanker truck, tank car and iso-containers. It also provides direct ship and barge transfers, tanker truck and tank car weighing, package filling, drumming services and additional services.

In May, Kinder Morgan announced the commercial in-service of a portion of its renewable feedstock storage and logistics hub project at the Harvey Terminal. The project is designed to serve Neste, a leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, by storing its renewable feedstocks like used cooking oil, which it collects from more than 80,000 restaurants across the U.S. This feedstock will be used in the production of renewable fuels and plastics. Kinder Morgan also made enhancements to rail, truck and marine infrastructure to meet the modal flexibility requirements of Neste’s feedstock supply chain.

The project involves a total conversion of 657k bls of storage capacity in two phases; Phase 1 is currently in service and has converted 565k bls of storage capacity, Barrois said.

Phase 2 of the project will involve converting the remaining 92k bls of storage capacity, he said. The totality of the project expands on current capabilities, allowing Kinder Morgan to move renewable feedstocks inbound and outbound via vessels, barges, rail cars and trucks.

The project is supported by a long-term commercial commitment from Neste and, at Neste’s option, the facility can be further expanded. Through their renewable and circular solutions, Neste aims to help customers reduce at least 20 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2030.

"We are proud to be taking a leading role with Neste in supporting a sustainable future," said Kinder Morgan’s President of Terminals John Schlosser. "This project is a great example of how our vast network of existing terminal infrastructure can be swiftly converted to meet the growing needs of the renewable fuels market in the U.S."

Safety is also a critical function of Kinder Morgan’s facilities, and Barrois credits extensive employee training, surveys, employee recognition and dedicated teammates with driving success in its safety record.

"Over the last five years, Harvey Terminal’s incident rate has been reduced by half compared to previous years, and our incident rate continues to be well below the industry standard," he said.

"We are also proud to have accomplished this during a time when the pandemic created a different set of challenges related to protecting our employees’ health while fulfilling our customers’ and country’s needs by continuing to move necessary products and materials, as a critical infrastructure facility," he said. Kinder Morgan has implemented several initiatives to increase safety awareness, including dual verification, Drive to Zero, a 14-Point Plan, safety variance awards and a commitment to the Stop Work Authority program, which gives workers and contractors the authority to stop work if they observe unsafe conditions or behaviors on a jobsite.

Giving back to the community is also an indicator of success for Kinder Morgan, allowing the company to be a community steward and help promote STEM education.

"Through the Kinder Morgan Foundation, we support local non-profit organizations in the area by providing grants between $10-$50 thousand dollars," Barrois said. "These grants are given to arts and educational programs that benefit traditionally underserved youth, including minorities and women, with a majority of contributions directed to STEM programs."

Barrois has been with Kinder Morgan for 17 years, working in a variety of financial and operational management positions.

He grew up in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University before graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Holy Cross University.

After graduation, Barrois held a variety of management positions in the accounting, operations and quality and safety departments for more than 12 years at International Shipholding Corporation. He also worked for Bean Dredging LLC in its finance, quality and safety departments.

To stay on top of industry best practices and trends, Barrois is actively involved in the American Chemistry Council and the Louisiana Sheriff’s Honorary Membership Program, along with other regional programs.

"My participation in these organizations helps me be a stronger advocate for the great things our industry is accomplishing," Barrois said.

Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, providing energy transportation and storage services to the people, communities and businesses it serves.

The company has an interest in, or operates approximately 82,000 miles of pipelines, 140 terminals and 700 billion cubic feet of working natural gas storage capacity.

Kinder Morgan is headquartered in Houston and has approximately 10,500 employees supporting operations in 44 states.

A key component to see continued growth and success in the future of the industry will involve the continuing transition to a lower carbon energy footprint, Barrois said.

"Our facilities like the Harvey Terminal are ideally suited to be repurposed to handle renewable feedstock products used to make renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels," he said.

"I’d like to see Harvey continue as an industry leader when it comes to our environment, health and safety performance — and continue to expand our footprint in the renewable energy market and broaden our support for the local communities and schools."

For more information, visit kindermorgan.com.

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