Early in his career, Jared Wimberley set what he described as a “lofty goal” to become a refinery manager.
“Although the role sometimes seemed unachievable, I always tried my best to learn everything I could about refinement, including mistakes, in order to improve my performance,” he said.
In November 2021, Wimberley achieved what he perceived as the unachievable when PBF Energy appointed him refinery manager of PBF Chalmette Refining.
“I am honored to take on this role and fully recognize that leading the more than 475 team members in operating the refinery in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible manner is a great responsibility,” he said. -he declares.
Wimberley’s 22-year career has taken him coast to coast, from Baton Rouge to Virginia to California, but he is a Louisiana native and a graduate of LSU’s chemical engineering program.
“Growing up in Louisiana and seeing how many people worked in the offshore/production side of the oil and gas industry made chemical engineering an easy career choice for me,” he said.
Wimberley had family and friends who worked on the refining side of the business, but ultimately it was his parents and a few close mentors who helped him see how well his strengths in STEM subjects matched his desire to become engineer.
Over the years, Wimberley held various positions at Exxon, ExxonMobil and PBF Energy, which operates Chalmette Refining. He spent the early years of his career working in engineering positions, supporting plant operations and optimizing refining processes.
“These jobs introduced me to the wide range of technologies used in modern refineries,” he said.
Wimberley also worked in economics and planning, which taught him the business side of refining operations. But the most rewarding jobs, he said, were in supervisory roles.
“Whether it’s with engineers or operations personnel, learning about the human side of business has been the most fun,” he said. “I helped my teams execute two successful, large-scale planned maintenance projects called turnarounds during my supervisory duties in operations, but my greatest accomplishments were in building and developing strong teams, which continues in Chalmette.”
In 2016, PBF Energy moved Wimberley from California to Chalmette, where he had the opportunity to hold two refinery management positions before being named Refinery Manager.
To keep pace with the changing industry trend of energy transition, PDF Energy has approved a renewable diesel project for Chalmette which involves taking a unit that was built to process oil and repurposing it to convert raw materials of animal and vegetable origin into renewable diesel. The project is expected to go live in the first half of 2023.
“Green energy projects like this can help create stability for our workforce, add value to our facilities and have a positive impact on the community,” Wimberley said.
Editor’s note: This is one of 12 profiles of industry professionals published in the Book of Lists 2022-23.