Pipeline Equities

Pipeline Equities has been engaged in pipeline mergers and acquisitions since 1987. During this time, the company has also been the major factor in pipeline take up or removal for salvage or environmental remediation purposes.

The company is a partnership with David Howell as managing partner.

Clients over this period of time have included Chevron, Exxon, Koch, Arco, Amoco, TXU, Pickens Pipeline, United Gas, Transpetco, Gulfmark, FINA, and others.

The company entered the appraisal business in the late eighties and has been the leader in the pipeline appraisal sector of the industry. While many companies use accounting and engineering firms to do appraisal work, Pipeline Equities' appraisal division is the only company totally dedicated to this line of work with specialists and resources to valuate a property completely.

Prior to changing the name to Pipeline Equities in the late 80's, Howell and associates operated as Tradex Petroleum Services. Tradex bought and sold pipe, drilling and production equipment throughout the world. The company built to order or unitized 27 complete drilling and workover units for companies in Israel , Iran , Venezuela , Brazil and France and throughout the U.S.

Tradex operated pipeline systems, including trunk lines as well as gathering systems in the late 70's and early 80's for the company account.

As a drilling contractor, Howell was exposed to down hole operations, and later as CEO of Southwest Supply in Houston , he gained valuable experience in other sectors of the industry. Southwest Supply had eleven locations in Texas and Louisiana . With Southwest, Howell became knowledgeable in the areas of supply and distribution to production, pipeline, refining, and well service contractors.

How to Recycle a Pipeline

In 1920, an 8 5/8' diameter pipeline was laid near Tulsa, Oklahoma for the transportation of crude oil from a new discovery field to a tank farm 40 miles away. The field had flush production or large amounts of crude initially, but was depleted within a few years. In the late 1920's, new fields were being discovered on a regular basis in the Permian Basin of Texas. This same pipeline was recovered from Oklahoma and transported to Texas to transport the new crude oil from the new wells to a tank farm.

When the pipeline was originally laid in Oklahoma, it was spread out in 20 foot sections kicked off of wagons pulled by teams of mules into a pre-made ditch. These individual joints were screwed together at these 20 foot intervals and tightened with chain tongs to hold 'back up' and 48' pipe wrenches with a 'cheater' or 3 foot extension of 2 1/2' outside diameter pipe on the end of the wrench. This would allow more than one person to tighten joints. The result was a pipe collar showing on the outside of the pipe indicating a connection every twenty feet of pipeline. When the pipeline was recovered in Oklahoma, the pipe often disconnected during attempts to pick up the pipe from the ditch.

In 1920, an 8 5/8' diameter pipeline was laid near Tulsa, Oklahoma for the transportation of crude oil from a new discovery field to a tank farm 40 miles away. The field had flush production or large amounts of crude initially, but was depleted within a few years. In the late 1920's, new fields were being discovered on a regular basis in the Permian Basin of Texas. This same pipeline was recovered from Oklahoma and transported to Texas to transport the new crude oil from the new wells to a tank farm.

When the pipeline was originally laid in Oklahoma, it was spread out in 20 foot sections kicked off of wagons pulled by teams of mules into a pre-made ditch. These individual joints were screwed together at these 20 foot intervals and tightened with chain tongs to hold 'back up' and 48' pipe wrenches with a 'cheater' or 3 foot extension of 2 1/2' outside diameter pipe on the end of the wrench. This would allow more than one person to tighten joints. The result was a pipe collar showing on the outside of the pipe indicating a connection every twenty feet of pipeline. When the pipeline was recovered in Oklahoma, the pipe often disconnected during attempts to pick up the pipe from the ditch.

Around the late 1920's, a stronger and simpler jointing method was introduced into pipeline industry. Acetylene welds were strong enough to keep the needed pressure on the pipeline for low-pressure crude transportation, though they were not as strong as the wall of the pipe itself. Acetylene welds eliminated the need for two or three men manhandling large pipe wrenches and chain tongs. When the pipeline was sent from Oklahoma to the Permian Basin of Texas to be re installed, the old collars and threads were cut off and beveled in order to facilitate the new acetylene weld jointing technique. The line was then re-laid in 1928 in Crane, Ward, and Winkler Counties in Texas. This pipeline later went through a succession of three owners for various reasons over time and was purchased for salvage purposes in 2007. The fields and wells this pipe was intended to service had been depleted, and the line was no longer viable as a pipeline in that particular location. The salvage or pipeline recovery team proceeded to remove the pipeline and the company's marketing department shortly found an application for the pipeline. It was found that despite a little wear, the pipeline had the qualities of good Grade B steel. The thickness of the wall of the pipe was intact and had very little corrosion. It was found to be suitable for transport of slurry from a copper mine to the disposal site nearby, but away from the mine. The Mexican company that owns the mine expects to use the slurry line for as long as the mine is in operation.

An additional 30-mile section of this line was recovered and shipped to Vietnam to be used as a water transportation pipeline near what is now Ho Chi Minh City. It will probably be used there for another forty years.

This steel pipeline that was manufactured at least 89 years ago has been through 4 incarnations. Eventually when the copper mine is depleted, this pipe will be recycled once again until one day it will end up as scrap to be molded into plate, sheet, and coils for another round of uses.