Price Gregory is providing its expertise to the Rockies Express project, a 713-mile stretch, to be completed in 2009.

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Price Gregory Services Inc., a Houston-based company formed in January through the merger of H.C. Price Co. and Gregory & Cook Construction, aims to serve its clients with a larger asset base, greater geographic coverage and expanded management personnel.

Price Gregory is currently providing its pipeline expertise to the Rockies Express project, a 713-mile stretch from the Cheyenne hub in Weld County, Colo., to Audrain County, Mo. It features a 42-inch pipeline – designed to carry about 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day – the largest pipeline built in the United States in more than 20 years, according to the company.

CEO John Jackson and COO Tom White spoke with U.S. Business Review about the merger, the Rockies Express project and Price Gregory’s future.

U.S. Business Review: How do H.C. Price Co. and Gregory & Cook Construction complement each other?
Tom White: H.C. Price has had operations in Alaska for a number of years, also in Canada and all of North America. With all the large projects coming up, it gives us more opportunities to go out and do large projects. Gregory gives us more manpower and capabilities. Instead of having one or two (pieces of) ]equipment in the field, we now have six or seven.

John Jackson: Both companies have a history in pipeline and also have construction experiences. Also, the entire industry is short of people. So, putting the two (companies) together brings more experiences into one company.

USBR: Tell us about the company’s workload for 2008.
JJ: We see bigger projects going further out. Customers are seeing the industry as being tight with the ability to do pipelines. So, they are planning future work, which allows us to book (jobs) early. We have a lot of work already (set up) for 2009 up until 2010. For example, a big marquee job we’re doing now is the Rockies Express project. There is a lot of drilling in the Rockies, but there aren’t enough pipelines out there. We completed the first phase and we’re now kicking off Phase II this summer with an overall completion date of June 2009.

USBR: What are some of the challenges you expect to see in the future?
TW: With all the work going on, it’s going to be hard to look for skilled labor. There will be a shortage of welders. (For example, at the Rockies project), it’s hard to meet the demands of people because each segment of a 42-inch pipeline takes about 500 people to build. But, we have ongoing training programs and on-the-job training.

JJ: Also, the skilled laborers we find today are generally older. The population is aging, so we have a shortage and an aging work force. We’re even bringing some people out of retirement. We’ve got to train some new, younger people, so they’re ready to take over the roles five years from now. We do on-the-job training and other skills training, but it will all take some time.

USBR: How does Price Gregory ensure safety while working in the field?
JJ: The difference of pipeline vs. shop line is that they don’t have the same operating procedure. In shop line, everything is in the same, fixed facility. But, in a rolling terrain, you move equipment, you move every day and you work in different conditions, so you have to train people and make them aware of the safety issues. We want them to go home the same way that they came in that day. There are a lot of variables in the field and you can’t control all of them. We just have to maintain a safe operating environment.

USBR: How does the company keep up with the ever-increasing demands for natural gas?
TW: We would like to pick work seasons and ideal conditions to work, but we don’t have that choice now. We have to get gas to the market (as soon as possible). The market for natural gas certainly increased enormously. There is such a high demand for oil and gas and it is bigger than it has ever been in the last 30 years.

JJ: It’s a 12-month construction cycle now. Drilling has risen in the past five years in the U.S. and Canada. New wells are being drilled in areas you’ve never seen before. Consumption is growing in the Northeast and Southeast of the U.S., so basically, we have to re-plumb and move gas from where it is to where it is being used. And, we think this trend will increase in the next three to five years.