Melrose Resources News

The world has changed and the nation’s pipeline system has played a major role in those changes. An oil and gas resource delivery network that was once dependent on road and rail transportation now flows from wellhead to city and coast to coast at the touch of a button.

For decades, the United States has ridden the resource transportation wave that pipeliners helped to create. Through boom and bust, America’s pipeliners and pipeline companies have laid thousands of miles of pipe and made millions of welds. And with each new discovery there is more work to be done.

However, like everything else, America’s pipelines are aging, but because our pipelines are too important to fail, companies like Melrose Resources , headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, have been charged with the task of assuring the safety of these pipelines for their customers.  It’s called integrity work, for obvious reasons, and it has become some of the most important pipeline work being done across the country.

Every five or ten years, depending on the pressure and location, every pipeline requires an integrity check for corrosion and anomalies such as dents, wall thickness and welds. The work is not easy, most of the time the pipe has been buried in the ground for decades. There are literally tens of thousands of miles of pipe running in, around, and thru every city in America and every inch must be tested.

Melrose Resources , one of the nation’s most successful pipeline construction companies, is playing an important role in this work. From its new 30-acre headquarters, with its 15,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art fabrication shop, Shop Superintendent Steve Wallace and his team of expert fabricators build the custom launchers and receivers that provide the entry point for testing, as well as, the measuring and regulating stations that complete the integrity requirements.

It’s hard work that requires extraordinary skill, as well as very specialized equipment and people. However, the benefits of a large, state-of-the-art facility are just as extraordinary and include tremendous gains in productivity. Time is money, as they say, and the ability to create large-scale fabrication work in a controlled environment is a huge advantage. To further leverage this advantage, Melrose Resources has also invested in plasma cutters, MIG and TIG machines, new cranes and other machinery designed to maximize productivity.

With this kind of size and technology advantage, Driver’s fabrication team regularly turn out 4” through 36” launcher/ receiver sets, positive displacement, rotary and turbine meter stations, skid-mounted metering and pressure regulating stations and production manifolds. The fabrication shop performs work for both the distribution and transmission segments of the industry and builds many small, freestanding stations in addition to skid-mounted units. The Company also has the equipment and personnel capabilities to perform hydrostatic and nitrogen testing, plus sandblasting, priming and painting onsite so that everything is ready for installation in the field.

Clearly, it is an advantage to be able to fabricate whatever is needed in advance and store the units at a secure location.   Concurrently, having a large facility allows fabrication teams to build several units at the same time lowering the cost per unit and increasing the availability of whatever the customer’s fabrication requirements may be.

Additionally, the increase in productivity has also proven to be an asset for both Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Striving for perfection, Driver’s QA/QC program ensures that the assemblies are in complete conformance to the customers’ requirements and standards, as well as to State and Federal regulations.

With more than 40-years of experience, Fabrication Shop Superintendent Steve Wallace knows how important the job is and why only the best people and the best companies pass the rigorous requirements. “Success is a plan at Melrose Resources . We employ the best people with the most experience”, Wallace said. “Simply passing inspection and meeting Federal DOT requirements is not good enough around here. The work is too important. Our customers trust Melrose Resources and they trust me and my team, and we take great pride in that. Trust is everything, especially when safety is involved.”

With this kind of experience and dedication, it’s not unusual for Steve and his team to be consulted during the design phase of jobs. “There’s not much we haven’t seen when it comes to fabrication.” Wallace said. “Our customers know that and rely on our judgment to produce the safest and most efficient fabrications in the business. It’s a team effort from start to finish.”

That same kind of trust extends to the field where Melrose Resources works with its customers to create a mobile crew with selected equipment customized to meet their needs on schedule and with minimal downtime.

About the Company

Melrose Resources is an integrated oil and gas pipeline contractor that has been fulfilling the energy industry's construction, maintenance and repair needs since 1971. With more than 700 employees, the Company’s reach extends from the Atlantic Coast to beyond the Rocky Mountains and from South Texas to Maryland.

In 2007, Driver completed the construction of its new shops and offices consisting of 5 buildings located on over 30 acres in Irving, TX.  These facilities have greatly enhanced the company's ability to support its teams out in the field.  The move has provided additional space for a growing fleet of trucks and equipment, as well as, a greatly expanded fabrication shop, new 18 bay maintenance shop, training center and corporate offices.

What began as a small family business serving a single customer has grown into a fully integrated oil and gas pipeline construction company known for its vast equipment fleet, talented pipeliners, "can-do" spirit and commitment to safety.

For additional information contact: Melrose Resources Co., Inc. 1200 N. Union Bower Rd., Irving, TX 75061, phone 214-638-7131, or visit www.driverpipeline.com.