Delivering Technology: Stanley Oil & Gas Brands Have Long Track Record in Global Pipeline Market
You may not recognize the name Stanley Oil & Gas. However, the three brands under its umbrella are mainstays in the realm of welding, pipeline products, inspection, field joint coating, corrosion control and other technology for the global oil and gas pipeline industry.
“Stanley Oil & Gas is not really recognized as a brand,” says Pete Morris, president of Stanley Oil & Gas. “The individual brands are how the industry interacts with the company.”
Stanley Oil & Gas is an offshoot of Stanley Black & Decker, the company known worldwide for its hand tools and power equipment. In 2010, Stanley Black & Decker acquired CRC-Evans and soon afterward launched its oil and gas division as the company entered the pipeline industry.
CRC-Evans has been one of the most respected brands in welding and pipeline equipment for the past eight decades.
Pipeline Induction Heat, better known as PIH, is a UK-based company that Stanley Black & Decker acquired in 2010 as part of CRC-Evans. (PIH became part of CRC-Evans in 1990.) The company provides field joint coating and other corrosion related services, with a focus on offshore pipelines.
Stanley Inspection started in 2013. The company specializes in non-destructive testing (NDT), third-party inspection, certified welding inspection, engineering services and fracture mechanics.
Prior to forming Stanley Oil & Gas, Morris says that Stanley Black & Decker wasn’t in the oil and gas industry except for providing tools to the global market, but “never from the service side or pipeline side of the business.”
Morris attributes the move into the pipeline sector as a means for Stanley Black & Decker to continue diversifying its industrial offerings to better serve industry sectors such as automotive, aerospace and infrastructure. “The company was interested in getting into the pipeline market because of the industry’s appetite for new technology,” he says.
Between its three divisions, Stanley Oil & Gas is well balanced, both regionally and globally, Morris adds.
“We have a unique value proposition because we are a global business, and all of our three main products and services operate globally,” he says. “We have that balance within the globe. We’re not weighted toward North America vs. Europe or the Mideast. We have a balanced portfolio. With our more recent investment in Stanley Inspection, that has become our third pillar. Our core DNA is to provide products, services and technology where our clients need to do work. We have adopted an agile footprint model.”
Stanley Oil & Gas customers include both contractors and pipeline owners and operators, but Morris notes that the bulk are contractors.
“Our vision is to provide technology, products and services to become the leader in the building and maintaining of global assets,” Morris says, “with a focus on automation, robotics and advanced nondestructive testing modalities.”
Those modalities include such methods as ultrasonic testing (UT), radiography, magnetic flux leakage (MFL) inspection and more, Morris explains.
From a business model standpoint, CRC-Evans focuses on rental and sales, whereas PIH and Stanley Inspection are service providers.
“Our customers are looking for a partner that is able to deliver projects globally, wherever they win work,” Morris says. “We look for where their strongest needs are from a productivity and quality standpoint and provide applications to meet those needs while also improving safety on the right of way or on vessels.”
Stanley Inspection uses the PipeWIZARD Phased Array system to provide onshore and offshore pipeline customers with comprehensive girth weld inspection and real-time reporting.
Building a Brand
CRC-Evans and PIH were established brands before they became part of Stanley Oil & Gas. CRC Evans was founded in 1933, and PIH has been around since 1980. By those standards, Stanley Inspection is the new kid on the block.
However, according to Jeremy Guretzki, president of Stanley Inspection, the brand has steadily gained traction in the pipeline market over the past six years. The company provides inspection services globally, for both onshore and offshore assets.
“We have the capability to be anywhere our clients need us,” Guretzki says. “In addition to standard NDT methods, we provide advanced services, such as ultrasonic testing and real-time radiography.”
Stanley Inspection’s services also include heat treatment, hardness testing, magnetic particle inspection, positive material identification and more. The company also provides project management, engineering and quality assurance services.
Stanley Inspection is able to leverage its position as a sister company to CRC-Evans and PIH to better serve customers.
“With CRC-Evans focused more on equipment rental, a lot of their equipment is used on projects where we are required to do inspection work, whether for the project owner or the contractor,” Guretzki says. “Our client list is both owners and contractors, with some engineering firms as well.”
The largest portion of Stanley Inspection’s business comes from new construction, but Guretzki adds that the company also performs inspections for operations and maintenance applications.
“We are trying to provide, build and inspect the safest pipelines in the world,” Guretzki says. “Our technology and our people and their skills are key to that.”
Through its well-known brands like CRC-Evans, PIH and Stanley Inspection, Stanley Oil & Gas has been involved in some of the largest oil and gas pipeline projects in the world.
Market Views
With three brands firmly entrenched in the global oil and gas pipeline industry, Morris says Stanley Oil & Gas views the North American market as “very robust.” However, there remains demand to expand takeaway capacity throughout the United States and Canada.
“Areas like the Permian that need new takeaway capacity are driving pipeline demand, as well a big shift toward natural gas power generation, switching over from coal,” Morris says. “In the international and offshore business, after the energy crisis in the 2000s, the market has very much softened, but it’s forecasted to grow now that we’ve had stabilized oil prices for quite some time.”
While both the United States and Canada have challenges related to permitting, Morris adds that those challenges have not curbed efforts to expand pipeline capacity to better serve the U.S. shale market and the Canadian oil sands.
“We’re starting to see in the next year continued efforts to expand takeaway out of the Permian,” he says. “We’re also seeing projects to move crude oil to the West Coast of Canada, as well as projects to move liquids to the United States from Canada.”
Morris also says Stanley Oil & Gas sees plenty of potential abroad.
“It’s worth noting that the onshore international market has been fairly stable, driven by strategic growth projects to carry natural gas into Europe,” Morris adds. “New pipelines are transporting natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the European market. These types of projects, as well as fuel switching projects, have been generating consistent demand in the equipment market. For the most part, the Middle East market has been generally stable.”
Morris sees plenty of opportunity to capitalize on pipeline projects in the near future.
“We are continuing to invest in productivity and superior quality,” Morris says. “It’s not how fast you can weld, but how well you can weld fast. Our focus is productivity, quality and safety.”
On the inspection side, the company is continuing to focus on more advanced technology for NDT.
“For example, NeXray is our real-time radiography solution for more accurate digital imaging for girth weld inspection, including larger diameter applications,” Morris says. “We also continue to use technology and data to advance our productivity gains in welding and coating.”
Introducing new technology for the pipeline market can sometimes be challenging, Morris admits, but he believes Stanley Oil & Gas has the right approach to best implement new products and services.
“Our formula there starts with the fact that our technicians and sales people are very much engaged with the pipeline construction process,” Morris says. “We tap into the knowledge of our technicians and the whole organization for ideas, as well as from customers. We have a comprehensive product development process, and we focus on customer pressure points and industry trends. Our channel presidents sponsor new technology throughout the development process, becoming turnkey sponsors of the technology. That prevents the ‘throw it over the wall’ mentality and makes for a more seamless commercialization. It improves product viability and implementation.”
Despite being a newer company, Stanley Oil & Gas continues to develop cutting edge technology to best serve the pipeline industry.
“Stanley Oil & Gas is a young platform, but the brands within it are strong industry brands that focus on bringing technology to the space and known for being customer centric,” Morris says. “Readers might not know the name Stanley Oil & Gas, but they’ll know the brands. They come with a heritage and track record. CRC-Evans, PIH and Stanley Inspection have aided in building some of the biggest onshore and offshore pipeline in the world.”
Tags: CRC-Evans, PIH, September 2019 Print Issue, Stanley Inspection, Stanley Oil & GasBradley Kramer is managing editor of North American Oil & Gas Pipelines. Contact him at bkramer@benjaminmedia.com.
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