If you drive a vehicle that runs on gasoline or diesel in the Houston area, it is very possible that the fuel came from Kinder Morgan’s Jefferson Street Truck Rack (JSTR) Terminal. The JSTR Terminal, which is located near the Houston Ship Channel, is part of the 2001 GATX acquisition which founded the liquids portion of the Terminals business unit. It supplies about 20% of the Greater Houston area with road fuels like gasoline and diesel. To put that into perspective, it loads about 3 million gallons of fuel a day that then goes on to fill many local area gas stations.
“It is a big responsibility,” said Kinder Morgan Terminal Manager Dean Leake. “If the JSTR Terminal is ever down, a lot of gas stations in Houston would be without fuel.”
The JSTR Terminal is located on 20 acres of land and includes 19 tanks. The truck rack itself has nine automated bays and fills about 450 trucks per day.
In recent years, several maintenance activities have taken place at the JSTR Terminal to ensure that it continues to operate optimally. About two years ago, a major reconstruction project to expand the terminal’s life span involved replacing the asphalt from the truck area with concrete. Concrete, while more expensive upfront, provides greater durability and less maintenance over time. Maintenance projects like this one help prevent downtime issues, especially during Texas’ active hurricane season.
Kinder Morgan’s Terminals’ team goes to great lengths to ensure the truck rack remains operational during severe weather. Preparations involve verifying that the on-site generator is functional, uninstalling and reinstalling pump motors that are subject to flooding, and making sure employees have what they need to work on site in a safe and comfortable environment. That means activating hurricane shutters and providing employees with proper bedding and hot meals.
Because of the completion of important maintenance activities as well as the execution of our Hurricane Preparedness Plan, the JSTR Terminal continued to operate after the recent storms when many Houstonians struggled to get gas for their vehicle or generator. In fact, the JSTR Terminal played a critical role in minimizing fuel shortages across the Houston area due to the extensive power outages. It has often been the first and sometimes the only road fuel distribution terminal operational followingstorms, including when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017 and thereafter.
“I love the energy industry because what we do matters to the communities where we live and work. We see the impact,” Leake said. “We take the responsibility of providing fuel very seriously, especially during a hurricane.”