ILTA honours industry leaders and recognises safety excellence at ILTA 2026 Conference & Trade Show
The International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA) recognised outstanding industry professionals and terminal operators during its annual Safety & Leadership Awards presentation, held at the 2026 ILTA Conference & Trade Show in Houston, Texas.
The awards celebrate individuals and companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence and a strong commitment to workplace safety across the liquid terminals sector.
Leadership Awards
The Outstanding Young Professional Award was presented to Peter McHenry, director of operations at Sprague Operating Resources, in recognition of his professional achievements and contributions to the industry.
McHenry played a key role in helping Sprague’s Albany Terminal achieve 25 years without a recordable safety incident. He has also worked with the US Coast Guard on initiatives to strengthen cybersecurity and digital resilience within terminal operations and has been an active contributor to several ILTA technical and educational committees.
ILTA also presented its Distinguished Service Award to Byrne Evans of IMTT and Dennis Mendenhall of Marathon Petroleum Company. In a rare joint recognition, the award acknowledged their longstanding volunteer leadership and significant contributions to the association. Both have served as co-chairs of ILTA’s Health & Safety Committee and have played an important role in developing industry safety programmes and educational initiatives.
Safety Excellence Awards
ILTA also announced the recipients of its 2026 Safety Excellence Awards, recognising terminal operators that demonstrated outstanding safety performance through strong results in both leading and lagging safety indicators.
The annual awards are based on ILTA’s industry-wide safety survey, which has been conducted since 2003 and remains one of the sector’s key safety benchmarking initiatives. This year’s survey included participation from 48 terminal operators, representing more than 70 percent of ILTA’s terminal membership.
Thirty companies received the 2026 Safety Excellence Award in recognition of their commitment to workplace safety, operational discipline and continuous improvement.
The recipients are:
* Advario North America LLC
* Benchmark River and Rail Terminals, LLC
* BWC Terminals
* Colonial Pipeline Company
* Energy Transfer
* Ergon Inc.
* Flint Hills Resources
* Howard Energy Partners
* Intercontinental Terminals Company, LLC
* International Raw Materials LTD
* Jefferson Energy
* Kinder Morgan, Inc.
* LBC Baton Rouge
* LBC Freeport
* LBC Houston
* Marathon Petroleum Company
* MIPC, LLC
* Motus Energy LLC
* Murphy Oil USA, Inc.
* Odfjell Terminals US
* ONEOK
* Saudi Aramco
* Seaport Canaveral Corp (VTTI)
* Shell Pipeline Company LP
* Sprague Operating Resources LLC
* Tidewater Terminal Company
* US Venture, Inc.
* USD Group, LLC
* Vecenergy
* Vopak North America Inc.
Platinum Safety Awards
ILTA also presented its highest safety honour, the Platinum Safety Award, to two terminal operators recognised for embedding safety into every aspect of their operations and organisational culture.
Colonial Pipeline Company received the award in the Small Company category, while Intercontinental Terminals Company was recognised in the Large Company category.
The awards were presented by the previous year’s recipients, Howard Energy Partners and Marathon Petroleum Company, who shared insights into the safety practices and leadership approaches that have contributed to their own operational success.
Speaking during the ceremony, ILTA President Leakhena Swett said the awards recognise organisations and individuals whose leadership continues to strengthen the liquid terminal industry and inspire higher standards of safety across the sector.
Founded in 1974, ILTA represents the global liquid terminal industry, supporting its members through advocacy, technical collaboration, education and the promotion of safe, efficient and environmentally responsible terminal operations.
For more information visit www.ilta.org
