14
Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Three 2015
A resident of Dallas, Texas,
U.S.A. since she was five
years old, she was a stay-
at-home mom before she
ventured into trading with
Fidelity Investments, then
PetroQuest Energy.
In 2013, Burnham struck
out on her own and founded
BurnhamGreen Oil. She
brokers deals between
buyers and sellers both
nationally and globally on
various products, from
liquefied natural gas (LNG),
No. 6 fuel oil, liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG), re-
refined base oils and white
oils, as well as crude oil.
She wants to do business
with China, the world’s
largest lubricants market.
So in April, she attended
the China-U.S. Private
Investment Summit in Austin,
Texas, hoping to strike
partnerships with the 50 or
so businesspeople in the
Chinese delegation.
Events such as these are
held around the United States
to stoke interests among
Americans to partner with
the Chinese. Burnham sees
these partnerships as an
opportunity to participate in
China’s economic growth.
“China wants to put its
money on U.S. soil and we
want to put our brand over
there,” she said. “That is why
we attended the summit.”
Burnham said that
BurnhamGreen Oil is already
in talks with a potential buyer
of 40,000 metric tonnes
of LPG per month out of
Houston. “We are on the
threshold of developing a
relationship with China,” she
said.
China is the world’s biggest
consumer of LPG. The shale
boom has led to a surge in
the production of LPG in the
There’s
something
about Mary
Mary其人
Mary A. Burnham深知任何交易中的关键。
五岁时搬到德州达拉斯常住，
曾经是全职妈妈，然后与Fidelity
Investments做交易，然后是
PetroQuest Energy。
2013年，Burnham单干，成立
了BurnhamGreen Oil。她为国
内外买家和卖家介绍各种产品，
从液化天然气（LNG）、6号燃料
油、液化石油气（LPG）、回炼基础
油和白油、乃至原油。
她希望与中国做生意，中国是
最大的润滑油市场。因此在四月，
她出席了在德州奥斯汀举办的中
美私营投资峰会，希望能与中国
代表团的50名商人达成合作。
美国各地都在举办类似的活
动，以激发美中之间的合作兴
趣。Burnham将这些合作视作参
与中国经济发展的机会。
“中国希望在美国进行投资，
我们希望把我们的品牌打入中
国，”她说。“这是我们参加峰会的
原因。”
Burnham说，BurnhamGreen
Oil已经在与潜在买家进行谈判，
后者可能每月从休斯顿采购4万
吨LPG。“我们即将与中国发展关
系，”她说。
中国是世界上最大的LPG消费
国。页岩气热潮使美国的LPG产量
大增。美中之前的第一笔LPG买卖
即由一家像Burnham这样的小型
私营企业在2013年达成。不过去
年，中国最大的炼油企业中石化
与总部位于休斯顿的Phillips 66
达成了一项大规模的LPG交易。前
者也是中国最大的乙烯生产商，它
希望以LPG作为原料。美国政府限
制原油出口，并在逐步放松LNG
的出口，但LPG出口没有限额。
Burnham为这些交易担任中
介，为潜在的买家和卖家牵线搭
桥。她在美国、墨西哥、西班牙、
尼日利亚和亚洲都有合作伙伴。
那么她是如何知道一项交易有
没有希望呢？“当你手中有另一个
人想要的，你就能以合适的价格
把它卖出去，”她解释说。
按Burnham的说法，确定一个
合理的价格看似简单。“你知道交
易价格，你知道你的物流成本。
Mary A. Burnham understands the key
ingredients in any business deal.
BY VICKY VILLENA-DENTON
Mary Burnham
