BJ Process & Pipeline Services is one of the leading providers of oil and gas services in the world, and its strategy of acquisition continually adds to its strength.

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There are nations whose armies aren’t as well equipped as BJ Process & Pipeline Services (PPS). Based in Houston, the global provider of oil and gas services has one of the largest fleets in the industry – more than 1,000 pieces of major equipment – according to Division Technical Manager Andy Barden. This has helped the company become one of the premier process and pipeline service providers in the world, with a significant global market share.

“In a lot of our markets outside of the U.S. – for example, in Europe or the Middle East or Asia – I would say we are one of the dominant players in the industry,” Barden adds.

However, there’s more behind the company’s dominance than the size of its fleet.

Barden says BJ is just as well known for its heritage and expertise. In recent years, these have been bolstered by the company’s acquisition of innovative companies such as Norson Services Ltd. and PROFILE International UK.

“I think the size of the company, the history and experience of the company is there because we’re the oldest company in the business, and because of the breadth of experience and diversity of experiences that we offer,” Barden says. BJ PPS marked its 40th anniversary in 2007, but the company’s roots date back to the Byron Jackson Co., founded in 1872 by Byron Jackson, who invented the submersible centrifugal pump.

Barden says the future of the company lies in the same strategy it has employed in the past: bringing new technologies to the market as well as finding new areas in which BJ can excel. “I think there are still continued opportunities for growth, both geographically in terms of expansion to new frontier exploration areas and also bringing new technologies into the industry,” he says.

Process Services
The depth of services that BJ provides for its customers in the oil and gas industry is a point of pride for the company, Barden says. Its process and pipeline services range from tried and true processes to those that were innovations when BJ introduced them.

The company’s process services were initiated in the 1970s, starting with purging systems for turnarounds and other nitrogen services. BJ’s primary customers for process services are in the downstream and midstream oil and gas industry, but it also works in the power, metals and mining industries. Over time, BJ introduced procedures such as nitrogen/helium leak testing, which it says has now become the standard process for testing a new system for leaks before startup.

BJ says it has the largest fleet of process nitrogen equipment in the world today, and has a strong presence in accelerated cooldown applications. These are typically situations during which a process reactor needs to be cooled down before maintenance can be done. BJ has proven to be an innovator in this area due to its development of hybrid carbon dioxide cooldown services, which use nitrogen gas to carry liquid carbon dioxide into the stream. This creates greater efficiency without the freezing caused by liquid nitrogen, the company explains.

Hydrostatic pipeline testing is another of BJ’s core competencies, providing customers with services ranging from equipment rental to the entire package from planning to execution.

Barden says the company’s technological strength is what gives it the edge in this respect. The company says it has pumps ranging up to 2,000 horsepower and can achieve pumping pressures up to 20,000 pounds per square inch.

Chemical cleaning is a common procedure for process services, but BJ says it has gone a step further and separated chemical cleaning from treatments that are used for purposes other than cleaning. These include drying pipes, applying an inhibitor for preservation and reducing surface tension on pipe walls.

The company has found ways to put its fleet of equipment to use for the oil and gas industry beyond process and pipeline services, as well. For example, BJ offers enhanced oil and gas recovery, which involves injecting water into an oil-producing reservoir to increase the pressure inside the reservoir and therefore the flow of oil. BJ says its large fleet of centrifugal pumps is well suited for tasks such as this.

Pipeline Services
Pipeline services have been a part of BJ’s repertoire since 1967, and include precommissioning, commissioning and maintenance. BJ has performed pipeline work from the Gulf of Mexico to the Andes Mountains, emphasizing its experience in environments as disparate as the Arctic and Saudi Arabia.

Umbilical testing is a major focus of the company’s pipeline services, and Barden says this is because of the rise in subsea operations that use it. Umbilical tubing is frequently used in subsea operations to open valves, monitor pressures and inject chemicals into the stream. BJ has also developed equipment specifically used to flush and clean umbilical tubing.

One recent addition to BJ’s pipeline services is its Underwater Pipeline Data Acquisition and Transmission Equipment (UPDATE) system. The UPDATE system allows a construction or support vessel to perform hydrotests remotely, freeing it to move on with other work while the test is completed, according to the company.

Total Capabilities
Because of the company’s diverse experience, BJ is in a select group that can commission pipelines from the planning stages to the finished product. “This is based on our extensive history and experience with methanol swabbing, which is almost always propelled with product gas, and our knowledge and patented technology for commissioning ethylene pipelines,” the company says.

“In addition, we have a large range of portable pumps capable of pumping hydrocarbons, which are frequently called upon by clients for commissioning crude or refined product pipelines. This wealth of experience with a wide variety of hydrocarbon systems is recognized throughout the industry.”

Maintenance services provided by BJ include clearing and cleaning blocked lines. For certain jobs involving blocked pipelines, BJ says its gel pig technology allows it to clear large amounts of debris out of pipelines efficiently and cost-effectively. The technology was developed by a related BJ company for carrying sand deep into well bores for fracturing purposes. The substance is a thick gel that BJ PPS uses to pick up debris that builds up on the walls of pipes and carry them out of the pipeline.

This process is more effective than the use of mechanical pigs, the company states, because mechanical devices can become stuck in debris or simply pass over it if it is built up too much. Solvents typically only work on one type of deposit and are not cost-effective to use on large amounts of debris, BJ adds.

The gel is used in conjunction with mechanical devices to effectively carry hundreds of tons of debris out of pipes in one pass.