Q&A: US refining veteran Drevna reflects on AFPM

OREANDA-NEWS. Charles Drevna on 4 May will retire as president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) trade association, a post he has held since 2007 after joining the association in 2002.

Drevna sat down with Argus to discuss how the association has changed under his leadership and the challenges facing the refining industry.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How has the refining industry changed over the course of your career?

The industry has evolved over the years, keeping up with modern technology, keeping up with consumer needs, keeping up with health and safety and the environment. It is like any other industry. It needs to continually evolve and make sure that we are giving the consumers the products they deserve and need in an environmentally safe and conscious way and keeping our employees and surrounding communities safe. That is our mission.

How has AFPM adopted to changes to the industry?

If you look at how the refining and petrochemical industries have morphed over the years, in order to effectively represent the industry, I believe their voice in Washington, their main association has to morph with them. When I first got here, at that time the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA), in 2002 we were beginning a transformative process from what was historically a mainly educational and conference driven organization. In the mid-2000s, we were facing a confluence of what I would consider unprecedented issues. All these things seemed to be happening in a very compressed timeframe, and we figured we had to embark on an effort that we believed we had to completely rebrand our message.

One of the things I have always chided our membership for back in those days is that we allowed others to define who we are. It was really problematic for refiners. And we did not convey to the consuming public how important we are to their daily lives. So we decided jointly with the membership that we had to do something about that. We decided that to promote the industry we had to define who we are. We had to tell people what we do, why we do it and how important it is. So we decided the best way to do it was to completely rebrand the association. I say rebrand before I say rename.

[The NPRA was renamed the AFPM in 2012]. We recruited top-notch talent for the staff, we actively engaged on all issues impacting membership and we enhanced our tradition of conferences and educational meetings. I believe we are the voice of the industry and we've been able to do that by getting our members to be a cohesive bunch. We were able to drive consensus and being active out in front and promoting instead of just defending the industry is what we are about.

What has been your greatest achievement?

It is going from an organization that basically monitored and got somewhat involved in advocacy to getting us to the forefront of being the voice for the refining and petrochemical industries in Washington. Couple that with the rebranding effort. What we were able to accomplish in a relatively short timeframe after I became president, was we took this organization from an \\$8mn-10mn/yr revenue organization to a \\$25mn-26mn/year organization. So we can do things we could not do before.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as president?

The enactment of the Renewable Fuels Standard. It was an incomprehensible, indefensible and unimplementable piece of legislation. We have this piece of legislation and regulation that is going to force us to do a couple of things: either turn our back on our customers and consumers or break the law. We are not going to turn our backs on our customers and we did not, we went to Congress and said these are the reasons why you passed the law, and these are the reasons why none of them are applicable in today's economy or today's energy space. Congress needs to do something about this. This is a failed program, it is anti-consumer, it is anti-free market, it is anti-energy independence.

What is the best way to resolve the issue of US crude oil exports?

There will be a point in time I believe when the oil export ban will be lifted. One of the things I believe, not just on this issue but on a lot of issues, Congress and whatever administration it is, they tend to look at issues in a silo or a vacuum. We've been struggling as a nation since the first Arab oil embargo to come up with some energy plan and it is always a rifle shot rather than looking at the total picture. I have equated them to little kids in a soccer field. No one covers the whole field, when the ball is in one corner they all run over to one corner. When the ball is over in this corner they all run over to this corner. What I am saying is we need an energy policy that covers the whole field.

What is the greatest challenge facing your successor, Chet Thompson?

I think Chet will do a remarkable job. I've known him for many years. He's a very methodical and naturally intelligent and he knows our industry. I had an advantage taking over the job as president because I was at the association for four or five years before I was named. The challenge is going to be a continuation of these issues I have faced. You look at some of the old agendas and it's like ‘oh my goodness it is Groundhog Day.' He will do fine.