Roger Blair

One geology class was all it took for Roger Blair, who had been an engineering major, to change direction and set upon a path that led to his recent appointment as President of PB Energy Storage Services (PB ESS). Located in Houston, PB ESS consults on engineering and construction of underground storage and related surface facilities for natural gas, compressed air and crude oil.
“I enjoyed trying to figure out what was underground,” says Roger. Learning about energy sources beneath the earth was so compelling that he decided to pursue a degree in geology.

At Illinois State University, Roger studied coal mining and oil and gas. Although Texas is the undisputed oil capital of the U.S., southern Illinois had a sizable oil and coal industry until the late 1990s. Upon graduation Roger took a job for an oil field service company and worked in both onshore and offshore drilling operations in the Gulf Coast.

In 1981, Roger’s life took a few more turns. He met Fran, whom he later married, and he began working at PB. “Fran didn’t like my being out on the oil rig for up to 20 days a month,” Roger says. “So I took a job at what was then the PB-KBB joint venture, which was set up to design the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, developed after the energy crisis of 1974.”

At the time, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve represented 100 percent of PB’s work in energy storage. When that project was completed, PB had an experienced staff in place to pursue private enterprise work with clients in oil, gas, electricity and manufacturing. Now private enterprise represents up to 95 percent of the PB ESS clientele in the U.S. and other countries.

In 1997, Roger left PB to work at Sofregaz U.S., an energy storage company ultimately bought by PB in 2001. With his return to PB, Roger was responsible for operations of the underground portion of the energy storage business and successfully managed the merging of the Sofregaz and PB groups.

Being part of PB again means having resources and expertise available worldwide. “When we’re going after a large project, we can call upon any of the PB engineering capabilities and use them. Our staff consists of only 45 people in a very specialized area, so there are times when we call upon civil or structural engineers,” Roger says. “Having local offices in Asia and Europe is helpful. Even if we don’t go to them for technical assistance, we get cultural support.”

Among current projects that Roger oversees is the Natural Gas Storage Caverns in Jiangsu Province, China. PB is evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of using the Jintan salt deposits for underground gas storage and specialty services such as salt cavern and gas storage infrastructure design.

Although he’s moved into management, Roger still spends a good deal of time on projects as a reviewer or a mentor. “Technology always improves and I need to stay on top of the technical aspects of our work,” he says.

Having a tight-knit group has prepared PB ESS for the new needs of clients as security and sustainability become high priorities.

Certainly the events of the past few years have had an impact on the group’s work. “With our experience on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and in pipelines, we provide consultation on homeland security, working with the PB Facilities group in Herndon. Although we’re not security experts, we advise on the technical side.”

Under Roger’s leadership, PB ESS has thrived despite the recent crises in the power industry. Bill Roman, President of PB Facilities, says, “During a period of wide positive and negative swings in the energy sector, it is noteworthy that PB ESS has been consistently profitable.”