Strike LLC: A Single-source for Safe Pipeline Solutions

An unresponsive energy services provider won’t be an energy services provider for long. In 2003, a team of energy industry professionals founded Strike LLC to provide reliable pipeline, facilities and maintenance services for pipeline owners and operators across the country, around the clock. The Strike team prides itself on providing top-of-the-line technical assistance and unparalleled team coordination to keep pipelines safe, compliant and productive. The Strike team approaches every job as a partner committed to the long-term operation of a pipeline, strategizing to find cost-effective solutions that last.

In just eight short years the company grew from one corporate office in Spring, Texas, to 14 field offices strategically located across Texas and Louisiana. Strike started out small and grew as the pipeline industry responded to new federal testing requirements under the Pipeline Safety Acts of 2002 and 2006. The company has continued to grow as oil and gas production has increased, requiring additional pipeline infrastructure. Strike’s business strategy is to be a single-source, life cycle management service provider focusing on construction, critical services and support services. In response, Strike has recruited the most talented professionals and provides a single point of contact for pipeline maintenance, testing, repair and construction as well as oilfield services.

In addition Strike’s fabrication group, Pickett Systems, supplies a full range of skid-mounted measurement equipment. Whether a system is destined for on-shore or off-shore pipeline operations, Pickett Systems will put its combined 200 years of fabricating experience to manufacture the right flow control and management system. When the right meter skid is complete, Pickett Systems can hand off installation to a Strike crew of instrumentation and electrical technicians.

A Texas-sized Safety Program

Throughout its growth, the Strike team never lost sight of the role safety plays in its continued success. “Our role is to be the safety oriented partner in the field that helps pipeline owners maintain systems and compliance,” asserts Cole Pate, senior vice president of Strike. “The financial implications of a pipeline’s failure to comply with federal regulations can be very costly,” explains Pate.

The Strike team designs its comprehensive safety program to protect its most valuable assets: its employees. The Strike safety program is designed to anticipate changing regulations and ultimately lead in new safety protocol, instead of waiting for regulations to tighten in response to bad practices. In turn, Strike’s clients rest assured that the company’s professionals perform all work without ever compromising the safety or integrity of the operations.

In the process, the continuous updates to its safety program also provide the team with an opportunity to train professionals to use new technologies. Testing and integrity related services are integral to the safe operation of any pipeline in the long-term, and new technologies are constantly developed to help identify problems earlier. Strike maintains over $4 million in testing equipment assets and with a quick phone call, a Strike crew can be dispatched for testing and repair work from any of its 14 offices.

In addition, Strike provides clients with real-time cost and progress tracking software with integrated GPS technology to ensure great transparency and peace of mind. In the cost tracking portal, clients can see detailed progress reports, inspector signatures, invoices and safety records from any mobile device with a web browser and a secured Internet connection. Upon completion of integrity services, Strike provides its clients with the most detailed test documentation available in the industry today and also maintains both electronic and physical archiving of each report. Every engineered integrity report includes digital imagery and GPS coordinates for all relevant pipeline features.

Rising to the Challenge

More recently, Strike crews have been working with Enterprise Products to expand and maintain pipelines in the Eagle Ford Shale area. Strike numbers amongst a handful of Enterprise’s preferred contractors and has completed hundreds of miles of pipeline construction in the past few years. The projects range in size from 46 miles of 24-inch pipe to 65-miles of 16-inch with river, archeological site bores and a bi-directional orifice meter station.

In late 2010, Strike was called in to help Enterprise expand its Armstrong facility in South Texas to increase its natural gas processing and natural gas liquids fractionation capacity. Crews worked quickly and Strike was challenged to install a new depropanizer, deethanizer and chiller system to keep up with rapidly expanding natural gas flow. The project also called for Strike to provide site work, foundations, structural supports process piping and vessel erection to support the new systems. Even with inclement weather and the holiday season’s festivities, the Strike team still managed to complete all work in less than 90 days.

The energy industry continues to grow despite a sluggish economy and Strike plans on continuing to provide reliable service with unparalleled safety and quality to its existing customer base. “There’s plenty of opportunity for us to grow in our existing markets. The larger challenge will be finding the right qualified personnel,” says Pate.

In the coming years, Strike will continue to uphold its commitment to safety while providing the energy industry with a single source for the safest pipeline construction, maintenance, testing and oilfield services possible. As a result, its corporate culture will help it attract the right candidates to help carry Strike LLC on to America’s energy future.