William Prentice, CEO, Meridian Energy Group
Meridian Energy Group is on the verge of making its cleaner refinery dreams a reality, and CEO William Prentice is more than excited to see that happen.
"The purpose of Meridian is to be the agent of change that will drive the complete reinvention of the refining industry," Prentice asserted.
Beginning this year with its Davis Refinery in North Dakota, Meridian is working on plans to redesign and construct its refineries to be cleaner and more efficient than any that came before them. With this plan, Meridian's new refineries will have only one-tenth of the industry's total air emissions average, and less than one-half of the greenhouse gas emissions.
"If one-half of all refining capacity in the U.S. were replaced with Meridian-designed plants, the carbon footprint of the industry would be reduced by 87 million tons per year," Prentice said excitedly.
So far, Meridian has obtained all the necessary permits and won the legal challenges to those permits, has fully documented its compliance with the Equator Principles, and established a preeminent position in energy project environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. The company has also completed the commercial arrangements for crude supply and refined product sales, establishing the key relationships for the refinery's design and construction.
Over the next few months, Meridian will arrange for the $1 billion in project financing to construct the Davis Refinery.
The journey to today
Prentice wholeheartedly believes every step of his early career prepared him for his role at Meridian. Before joining Meridian, Prentice worked in a variety of construction positions and even started his own company.
Growing up on his family's ranch outside of Redlands, California, Prentice learned the value of hard work from an early age. From the time he could walk, he worked the ranch with his family. His first job was in heavy construction while he was still in high school. Prentice later attended Arizona State University where he earned two engineering degrees, and shortly after graduating, he became a construction engineer for Fluor Corp.'s construction division.
"After only a short time at Fluor, it became obvious to me that the energy industry would be my home," Prentice recalled.
He then moved to a smaller energy design and construction firm where he grew in responsibilities and knowledge. Prentice had an equity stake in the firm, and when it went public, he had the funds to start his first company. The company addressed opportunities to deregulate the electric power industry.
"That began a progression of ventures that led to my involvement in Meridian in 2014," he explained.
As CEO, a typical day for Prentice begins at 4 a.m. (so he can work out before the company's daily 6 a.m. coordination call) and ends sometime after dinner, when his final phone calls and emails are completed. Prentice's job is one of integrative management and maintaining consistent progress toward the company's objectives, and most of his time is devoted to communicating with others, he said.
"The Meridian team is by far the finest team I have ever had the pleasure of working with; their expertise and professionalism mean that I only worry about making sure the right things get done, not that everything gets done right," Prentice said.
Lessons learned
3-D modeling shows the redesigned Davis Refinery that Meridian Energy Group will construct starting this year.
Getting to this point in his career wasn't easy, however. Along the way, Prentice encountered some bumps in the road, including the time he caused a train wreck on the job and was fired.
"I was working during college vacation on a project attempting to repair a section of an earthquake-damaged bridge during a winter rainstorm. In an attempt to save one of the bridge's abutments from washing out, I ordered a piece of excavation equipment - a backhoe - moved into an area near the railroad tracks to clean out a clogged drainage pipe," he explained.
When the backhoe attempted to get into position, it got stuck next to the tracks and was struck by a passing freight train. There were no injuries and no actual derailment, but Prentice said the collision itself was "spectacular."
"I was immediately fired, then rehired so I could write out a detailed incident report for insurance purposes. After the project manager read the report, I got a promotion and continued working for that company for a number of years over the course of several college vacations," he said.
Because of this incident, Prentice said he understood the value of learning from risk.
"The train wreck was the first of a series of events early in my career that have become merged into what I now think of as 'Risk School,'" he explained. "When you graduate from college, you will normally be given a lot of advice, such as play it safe, never volunteer, find a safe place to learn the ropes, etc. I would now advise people early in their careers that it is better not to play it safe; instead, it is always better to volunteer for the most difficult things. The best place to learn the ropes is where things are less secure. Those situations are also the areas where the greatest change is occurring, and change is an opportunity for innovation."
3-D modeling shows the redesigned Davis Refinery that Meridian Energy Group will construct starting this year.
According to Prentice, "risk" has become a "four-letter word" in industry and often prevents businesses and owners from innovating.
"You actually have to seek out risk so you can identify areas of evolution and change - those are the situations where you can apply your time, labor and expertise to innovate," he said. "Innovation creates unique value and is the foundation of entrepreneurship and capitalism."
In Prentice's eyes, learning has to come from the difficulty of defeat. Similar to risk, one has to fail every now and then to learn. Although it has been difficult for him, Prentice said learning to accept the defeats that result from attempting what is difficult is vital.
"You have to learn to bandage your wounds, absorb the lessons to be learned and use that experience as the foundation of your next success," he said.
3-D modeling shows the redesigned Davis Refinery that Meridian Energy Group will construct starting this year.
Seizing the future
"The domestic refining industry is wheezing along on the verge of collapse, unable to meet the challenges posed by the direction of the domestic energy industry as a whole," he said. "Meridian's legacy will be that it established a model for the future and reaped the benefits of a first-mover advantage for its investors and commercial partners."
As energy industry regulations have lifted over the past few decades, opportunities have expanded substantially, Prentice noted. At the same time, legislation and regulations for the preservation of air and water quality have increased, creating difficulties for some but also even greater opportunities for others.
3-D modeling shows the redesigned Davis Refinery that Meridian Energy Group will construct starting this year.
"Meridian believes fossil fuels will play a smaller but still significant role in our domestic energy future," he elaborated. "To do so, however, fossil fuels must demonstrate sustainability and be brought into full ESG compliance to stand alongside renewable energy. The COVID-19-driven energy and capital markets have paved the way by accelerating the retirement of the oldest and dirtiest refining assets. Meridian is emerging as a leading agent of change in this industry, a position it is cementing by building a series of fully ESG-compliant crude oil refineries."
By operating as an agent-of-change leader, Meridian will help the industry seize the initiative of structuring the U.S.'s energy future on the basis of science and technology and not politically focused emotionalism, he noted. Although moving forward with these projects involves risk, Prentice is confident Meridian's "new breed" of refineries will pave the path toward a cleaner energy legacy.
For more information, visit www.meridianenergygroupinc.com or call (701) 999-8480.
