Manager, LNG Business Development, Pivotal LNG

Robert Butts was named Manager, Fuels, July 25, 2016. He is responsible for expanding Pivotal LNG and JAX LNG sales, marketing, and business development within the maritime industry primarily in the Southeast United States.

Robert uniquely developed 26 years of leadership, management, and maritime specialty knowledge while he served the United States Coast Guard (USCG). As a Marine Safety Officer, he led and managed regulatory compliance programs responsible to verify safety, security, and environmental compliance with domestic and international law & regulations governing the marine transportation system, port operations, offshore oil & gas exploration and passenger vessel operations. Robert led, managed, and taught the USCG marine casualty investigation process at the agencies Marine Safety School. During which time, he participated in the joint agency investigation of the DEEPWATER HORIZON marine casualty. While serving in Jacksonville, Florida, his responsibilities included offering advice and guidance to USCG Captain of the Port(s), Maritime Stakeholders, and LNG industry representatives of federal regulations & policy governing siting, risk, and operation of LNG waterfront facilities, simultaneous vessel operations, use, and transportation of LNG as a marine fuel.

Director, Business Development, Crowley LNG

Arturo Joined the Crowley LNG team in 2020, the main focus of his team is to promote and grow small scale LNG distribution as the means to continue the industrial transition to a cleaner and safer environment in regions where the gas pipeline does not exist. Also, he is part of the Crowley marine LNG Ship-to-Ship bunkering solution.

Arturo holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and electrical engineering and a master’s in business administration from Nova Southern University. With 30+ years in the energy industry, he has participated in various disciplines within the energy and marine supply chain. To name a few, he has held positions at corporations such as General Electric, Woodward Governor, and Aggreko PLC.

VP, Marine Operations, Eagle LNG

Simon M. Duncan is Vice-President Marine Operations of Eagle LNG Partners with over 33 years of experience in the marine and energy sectors. Prior to joining Eagle, Simon was Senior Vice President of Marine and Terminal Operations for New Fortress Energy Inc. Prior to that, Simon was President & CEO at SPT Inc., a global provider of ship-to-ship transfer services and management of high-pressure gas terminals used by floating and regasification vessels (FSRU). Prior to that, he held various senior management roles at SPT. Over his career he was instrumental in the development of LNG ship-to-ship transfers and its role for LNG bunkering operations. Simon holds a B.A. in International Business from Texas Wesleyan University.

Vice President of Corporate Development and Sustainability, Eagle LNG

Matthew Fisher is a Manager of Business Development at Eagle LNG Partners. In his current role, he oversees the financial modeling for the project development teams, project financing and structuring for Eagle LNG’s infrastructure projects, and evaluates the economic feasibility for small scale LNG delivery models. Prior to joining Eagle LNG, Matt worked for Black & Veatch Management Consulting assessing North America natural gas market fundamentals. In his prior roles, he consulted on the commercial development of several large-scale US LNG exports projects and led analysis on pipeline cost of service and rate design studies before State and Federal regulatory agencies.

Head of LNG Bunkering, GAC Bunker Fuels Ltd

Beginning in 2014, John has worked in a variety of roles at GAC, most recently as Commercial Manager for LNG Services, North America. John has been focused on the development of LNG as marine fuel since 2016 by bringing together shipowners, bunker suppliers and port stakeholders to support successful projects. John believes that establishing meaningful partnerships is the only way to develop critical infrastructure that the shipping industry needs to decarbonize. Gulf Agency Company (GAC) is the world’s largest provider of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services. Established in 1956, the privately-owned group employs over 9,000 people in 300 offices worldwide.

Head of LNG Bunkering, GAC Bunker Fuels Ltd

Blake Littauer is President of Puget LNG and is responsible for all business development activities for the company. Located in the Port of Tacoma, WA, Puget LNG is the first LNG bunkering terminal on the west coast of North America.  

Prior to Puget LNG, Blake was the Director of Sales and Marketing for Clean Energy and was responsible for developing natural gas fueling partnerships with over the road transportation fleets as well as policy development and government relations to promote natural gas as a transportation fuel in the United States.

Senior Director, Global Marine Operations, Parkland Marine

Kim received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Finance and a Minor in Accounting from the University of Central Florida. Kim has spent the last 11 years growing through multiple roles within Royal Caribbean's fuel department where she has been responsible for all aspects of bunker procurement, operations and planning.

In 2015, Kim became head of Fuel Supply Chain, where she built and led a team of experts responsible for the forecasting, contractual negotiation and operational execution of bunkers, lubricants and emission abatement chemicals for 63 vessels across 300 ports. She was a part of RCG’s Hedge Advisory Committee and managed the Fuel Risk Management Model. She was also influential in the development of RCG’s ESG initiatives as it relates to future fuels and Greenhouse Gas reductions.