AFPM Summit 2023

This week, I took part in the Emerging Leaders program at the AFPM (American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers) summit in Dallas. I attended many info sessions on refining technology, best practices, and leadership.

Here are five items that stood out to me:

1. Focus on the basics

• As demand growth for refined products slows, refineries must focus on basics, specifically safety and reliability, to remain competitive.

2. Refining is increasingly exposed to global politics

• Upstream is already accustomed to politics having a big impact on business.

• Recent example is Russian export ban, which impacted global diesel movements.

3. Command and Control vs Trust and Inspire

• Jeffery J. Downs (Franklin Covey) delivered this message

• Leaders benefit from trusting and inspiring instead of the more traditional approach of command and control.

• High-powered individuals (such as rocket scientists) have a thought process that is input-focused instead of results-focused.

4. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demand is growing fast

• Airlines have publicly stated net-zero goals. This requires SAF.

• Alcohol to Jet (AJT) is one pathway to SAF that uses ethanol as the primary feedstock.

5. A lot of book recommendations.

• “Think like a Rocket Scientist” – Ozan Varol

• “Think and Grow Rich” -Napoleon Hill

• “Streaking” -Jeffery J. Downs

• “From Incremental to Exponential” -Vivek Wadhwa

• “Gen Z at Work” – David Stillman & Jonah Stillman

If you would like to learn more about AFPM, check out their website.