HSE – SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

The safety of our employees is the single most important priority at Hy-Bon Engineering. Priority #1 is that every employee goes home every night to their family in the same physical condition as when they arrived. Every employee of Hy-Bon is expected to take a leadership role in safety. No task is so urgent that we do not take the time to complete it safely. Hazard identification, intensive employee training, proper equipment & PPE, and job safety analysis are each critically important – but none as important at the intense personal commitment of senior management and every Hy-Bon employee to continuous improvement in our safety processes.

Likewise, our management team is committed to environmental excellence. Hy-Bon equipment has assisted our customers in capturing millions of cubic feet of methane and related gases from entering our atmosphere – and turning these previous pollution streams into a much needed clean energy source.

In our daily operations, environmental stewardship is a primary management responsibility. All Hy-Bon Engineering employees are expected to comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, and insist upon environmentally sound management and operational practices and procedures.

HY-BON ENGINEERING – A HISTORY

Hy Bon Engineering was founded in 1952 in a West Texas garage by a World War II veteran, Ralph Nelson, who saw the need to remove dangerous gas emissions from the air economically. During that time, the West Texas sky was ablaze with natural gas flares, and much of the remaining gas was simply vented to the atmosphere. Beyond the obvious health problems this gas and smoke caused for residents, several deaths had occurred due to Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S) poisoning. After experimenting with different metals that were immune to the corrosive powers of H₂S, he developed the first "vapor recovery unit".

From these humble beginnings, Hy Bon has grown from that basic vapor recovery unit design to become one of the most well respected companies in the industry; specializing in gas management systems. The company focuses on a particular niche of the market – handling low pressure gas – and is a global leader in this arena. Capturing very low pressure gas is a true engineering challenge, and one that has taken the company across the globe and given it the opportunity to assist several industries.

Jim Woodcock, who acquired the company in 1981 and serves as Chairman of the Board, expanded the company to pursue methane gas escaping from any industry – ranging from landfills to breweries. For example, Hy- Bon equipment is used to operate Mexican breweries by capturing the methane fumes off fermenting beer and converting it into energy that runs the plants via gas driven generators. A Hy-Bon unit successfully draws methane gas from a wastewater treatment operation in New York, which is then used to power gas generators providing electricity for an entire neighborhood. In China, Hy-Bon units pull methane gas from petrochemical storage tanks in a large refinery. In a peach canning factory in California peelings are made into a sludge, heated and bacteria added to emit methane, which is then captured by Hy-Bon equipment and used to power the cannery.

Hy-Bon, however, has not abandoned it’s roots. The company remains the market leader on vapor recovery units, and has expanded it’s role in the oil and gas industry beyond vapor recovery to include gas booster systems, casinghead pressure reducing units, and a range of compressor packages focused on handling low pressure gas. Hy-Bon has been fortunate to provide units for the oil industry in over twenty countries, both onshore and offshore, in an incredible range of applications. Hy-Bon units operate in most of the mature oil basins in the world, from Indonesia to Yemen.

While still best known for our industry leading role in vapor recovery, Hy-Bon has been extremely successful in other low pressure applications as well. In the past 12 months Hy-Bon has provided casinghead gas reduction units and gas booster systems to over eighty different operators, including Chevron Texaco, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, British Petroleum, Hunt Oil, Apache, Devon, and Pure Resources. The casinghead reduction units are used to reduce the pressure on the wellbore, allowing oil to flow more freely. The gas booster systems are typically used to connect multiple wells and boost the gas pressure to allow entry into the pipeline. We have also been successful in the offshore market, with offshore packages currently operating for such companies as Kerr-McGee, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron Texaco.

Larry Richards, Hy-Bon’s president, states “a lot of companies sell products, at Hy-Bon we work with our customers to provide solutions. In most instances, we can eliminate an environmental problem and simultaneously make our customer money from a gas stream they already own – a rare combination!”

Hy-Bon Engineering has been honored to serve our customers over the past 50 years, and may the next 50 be equally as exciting!

PRIORITIES / FOCUS

Hy-Bon Engineering has seven priorities that drive all business decisions, plus an additional element that is critical every step of the way.

Hy-Bon Engineering is Setting A New Standard for our industry in:

Safety
Priority #1 is that every employee goes home every night to their family in the same physical condition as when they arrived. Every employee of Hy-Bon is expected to take a leadership role in safety. No task is so urgent that we do not take the time to complete it safely.

Quality
Quality products, driven by continuous improvement, are the foundation on which our company exists. Quality of every unit that leaves the facility is crucial – new build or rental – but also the quality of our processes, the quality and professionalism of our facility and the level of professionalism and integrity with which we conduct our business.

Service
We must meet, then exceed, our customers expectations in all areas of service. Customer service should be proactive and extraordinary. Our customers have honored us with their business for 52 years, and we must never forget that we earn that trust with our actions every day. On time delivery, outstanding field service, parts service, sales service and the swift and fair resolution of problems.

Value
Our focus is to provide long-term value to our customers. We accomplish this through helping our customers increase their revenues, reduce their long-term operating costs, or reduce their liability exposure.

Communication
Proactive internal and external communication may be the single most important element distinguishing good companies from great companies. Strong lines of communication are required between all departments within the organization, with our vendors, and with our CUSTOMERS.

Teamwork
On an individual level, Attitude is everything. On a company level, Teamwork is everything. We will succeed as a team or we will fail as a team. We believe a collaborative effort, utilizing the expertise of our employees, our customers and our vendors is critical to our success.

Profitability
No business can survive and grow if it is not profitable. Our mantra on projects is to deliver a quality product - on time - on budget. But the key to profitability is each employee making good business decisions on a daily basis that allow us to reduce long-term operating costs without jeopardizing quality or service.

Every business decision at Hy-Bon Engineering is judged based on its ability to meet these seven priority objectives of our company. Along the way, a critical element is to have fun. In my experience, having fun is significantly under rated. It’s fun to be #1 in an industry, it’s fun to grow your business, to shock customers with outstanding service, and to provide a genuine positive impact on our community.

Working Together, let’s Set A New Standard!

Larry S. Richards
President
Hy-Bon Engineering Company, Inc.

NEWS RELEASES

Click an option to view full story

Download the "American Oil and Gas Reporter" article on Vapor Recovery

Hy-Bon chosen to lead a technical seminar at the 2004 PBPA Convention

Technology utilizing low pressure takes hold in Permian Basin

Hy-Bon Engineering Selected to Present at the Natural Gas STAR Partners Annual Meeting in Houston

Hy-Bon Engineering Selected to Present at the Department of Energy / Society of Petroleum Engineers Energy Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Hy-Bon Engineering Presents for The Oklahoma Commission on Marginally Producing Oil and Gas Wells

Hy-Bon Engineering Presents for Permian Basin Society of Petroleum Engineers

Hy-Bon Engineering Expands Facility

  Hy-Bon Engineering Co., Inc. chosen to lead a technical seminar at the 2004 Annual Convention of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association on the topic of Gas Management.
  (back to top)

Larry Richards, President of Hy-Bon Engineering Company, Inc., offered producers an opportunity to increase oil profits by capturing the low-pressure gas streams that normally escape into the atmosphere from stock tanks. The 54 year old company has equipment operating in 20 countries, he stated.
Hy-Bon’s vapor recovery system is not a new concept, but the systems are utilizing new technology, Richards detailed. “It is a technology that has had some pretty dramatic advances over the past five years that have made it much more compelling, especially when you couple it with today’s commodity prices.”
Production operations in the United States emit more than 26.6 billion cubic feet of methane gas from stock tanks annually, he noted, which negatively affect both profits and the environment.

The system connects stock tanks to manifolds, Richards explained. “It has to be a closed system to capture this gas. We are talking about very small nuances of pressure. These systems capture gas from the tanks at 2 inches of water-column of pressure. They completely shut down at one-half inch of water-column pressure.”

The captured gas typically runs 2,500 – 2,700 Btus, which Richards noted was much more valuable than most pipeline gas, which normally is around 1,100 Btus. The system also captures the condensate and sends it back to the stock tank.

The system depends on a pressure sensing device to control operations, and a bypass system that recirculates gas between the scrubber and compressor when pressure drops too low. That feature, Richards explained, keeps the unit running for the seven or eight minutes it takes to rebuild pressure in the tanks.

It is not unusual for a large tank battery to produce 200-500Mcf of 2,500 Btu gas every day, which is worth $550,000 - $1,400,000 a year in incremental revenue for the operator, Richards noted.

  Technology utilizing low pressure takes hold in Permian Basin
  (back to top)

Although oil and natural gas price have reached record highs this year amid tight supplies and rising demand, producers have been reluctant to spend their record revenues on exploration.

Instead, noted Larry Richards, president of Hy-Bon Engineering, operators are focusing on squeezing the last drops of oil from existing oil fields in the Permian Basin and elsewhere, both to provide additional oil and gas and to increase their own revenues in today's price environment.

It is those high commodity prices, he said, that are compelling producers to utilize technology to produce existing wells.

"It's cheaper than drilling new wells. They have the infrastructure in place, their primary costs are already covered and they can recover that 25 percent more oil from those reservoirs."

Producers, both locally and internationally, he continued, are looking at ways to step up production incrementally rather than through the drill bit because it's faster and it's easier to maximize existing production at today's prices than to drill a new well.

Among those technologies being used to increase existing production are two, both dealing with low pressure gas, that are expanding rapidly throughout the Permian Basin.

One technology is low pressure gas management or reducing casinghead gas pressure.

It is, explained Richards, "reducing the wellhead pressure on existing oil wells to allow more hydrocarbons -- oil or gas -- to enter the wellbore and be produced economically."

It involves technology offered by Hy-Bon and other companies in recent years in the form of low horsepower compressor packages to reduce casinghead pressure to as close to zero as possible while at the same time the compressor compresses the produced gas and flows it into the pipeline.

Not only does it help mature wells increase production but helps those older wells cope with what Richards said is a nationwide trend of dramatic increases in pipeline pressure.

"Higher pipeline pressure can negatively impact mature wells," he said, noting that pipeline pressure several years ago averaged 20 pounds per square inch and now averages 80 psi. "In a 70-year-old well, they don't have the mode of force to produce 80 psi. Using a compressor package can reduce pressure on that well."

Compressor packages also help mature wells cope with spikes in pressure, which can shut in older wells for a period of days.

He cited a case study in the Hobbs area where a compressor reduced casinghead pressure from 50 psi to about 2 psi and saw production increase to 50 Mcfd and five barrels a day.

Also in the Hobbs area, 20 wells with 30 psi line pressure and suffering pressure spikes from the pipeline were put on a compressor. Production rose from 700 Mcf to 1.2 Mmcf and oil production from 80 barrels to 130 barrels of oil, increasing the producer's revenue by $75,000 a month.

In Howard County, a well with 60 psi was put on a compressor, and the casinghead pressure brought down to near zero and production rose from no gas to 25 Mcf and crude from two barrels to six barrels of oil per day.

"Without the compressor, the well was locking," he said. "In older, mature wells suffering from high pipeline pressure, adding a compressor can make them viable wells."

Not every formation responds to casinghead pressure reduction, and not every well in the same formation responds the same to reduction, Richards said.

"We recommend, because each well responds differently, that operators do a 45-day test with a gas-powered low pressure compressor, skid or trailer-mounted. If oil production increases for a 30-day period, it likely will stay up. Natural gas production is less predictable so we recommend customers base their economics on increased oil production. We've also found there may be a big jump in production for a couple of weeks then it will fall back to previous levels. That's why we recommend the 45-day test."

A second technology deals with low pressure low volume vapor recovery, which allows operators to capture the gas stream coming off stock tanks.

"In many areas, operators have traditionally vented that gas stream," said Richards, "At $6 an Mcf, operators can capture that gas stream with a payout of less than two months."

What operators don't realize, he continued, is that, often, the gas stream off stock tanks is richer -- 2,700 BTU compared the 1,000 BTU of typical produced gas -- and is worth two and a half times the amount typical gas brings. He estimated that, if all the gas stream coming off stock tanks was captured, it could amount to about 26.6 billion cubic feet annually. Not only would that rich gas and the condensates captured from that gas benefit consumers and increase revenues for producers, it would benefit the environment by keeping that gas out of the air.

Vapor recovery can involve very small, inexpensive pressure sensors transmitting data to automatic ignition natural gas-powered engines that can be started by a computer as opposed to manually started by a pumper, as well as advances in control systems and remote monitoring.

"With this type of technology, it makes a lot of sense to rerun the economics" if a producer has previously rejected vapor recovery, Richards said. "With such a rich gas stream, the payback can be measured in days. And long-term, the operator has mitigated compliance issues and litigation issues by that gas not going into the atmosphere."

One reason these technologies are catching on in the Permian Basin, he said, is that engineers have tried them successfully and are willing to try them in more wells.

"We're seeing a strong increase in focus from Permian Basin producers," he said. "What's interesting is we also have a lot of interest from the international markets, who are looking to Permian Basin companies to help them use our expertise in making the most of mature wells."

Hy-Bon constructed units are destined for South America, the Middle East and other international markets.

"A lot of our international business comes from the technological advances made here in the Permian Basin to maximize production from 80-year-old well bores that have implications in China, the former Soviet Union and Argentina where they're dealing with some of the same issues," Richards said. "They're 10 to 20 years behind us on the production curve."

  Hy-Bon Engineering Selected to Present at the Natural
 Gas STAR Partners Annual Meeting in Houston (back to top)

Hy-Bon Engineering has been selected to present at the 2004 Natural Gas STAR Partners Annual Meeting held at the Warwick Hotel on Houston Texas October 27. The Natural Gas STAR Partners program is a joint effort between the United States EPA and over 80 oil and gas producers which focuses on methods to reduce methane emissions.

Hy-Bon will present and overview of vapor recovery technology, including several technology advancements in this arena. Over 26.6 Billion cubic feet of methane gas is emitted from oil field stock tanks annually. Hy-Bon will share several recent industry case studies on utilizing vapor recovery units to economically capture these vapors in a variety of applications, and the dramatic revenue increases this technology has produced from previously vented or flared gas streams. In these projects, the operators were able to successfully capture venting methane gas for multiple pieces of production equipment and oil stock tanks, and add significant revenue streams. Payback economics for most of these projects, with today’s commodity prices, were less than three months.

According to Larry Richards, Hy-Bon’s president, “The opportunity to speak to so many industry leaders and managers in an environment where they are specifically focused on ways to reduce methane emissions in one place is really unique. We’ve helped many of our customers significantly reduce methane emissions while simultaneously increasing their bottom line, and I’m excited that we have an opportunity to share some of these case studies in a forum like the STAR Partners program.”

  Hy-Bon Engineering Selected to Present
  at the Department of Energy / Society of Petroleum Engineers
  Energy Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma (back to top)

Hy-Bon Engineering has been selected to present at the 2003 Energy Symposium, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma April 19th – 23rd. The Energy Conference, co-sponsored by SPE International and the U.S. Department of Energy, draws attendees from over 15 countries. The conference focuses on enhanced oil recovery, and highlights areas which allow oil operators to increase production or reduce operating costs.
Hy-Bon will present case studies on casinghead gas reduction technology, and the dramatic production increases this technology has produced in many mature oil basins. In addition, Hy-Bon will present several operator case studies showing successful vapor recovery projects. In these projects, the operators were able to successfully capture venting methane gas for multiple pieces of production equipment and oil stock tanks, and add significant revenue streams from existing operations from a gas stream that was previously flared or vented to the atmosphere. Payback economics for most of these projects, with today’s commodity prices, were less than six months.

Presentation Overview:
• Increasing Profits via Low Pressure Gas Management
• Practical Applications with Field Examples
• Hy-Bon Engineering

A growing number of producers have realized significant incremental revenue from existing fields from two growing technologies. This presentation will focus on actual case studies. The first hour of this three hour presentation will focus on the growing field of casinghead gas reduction. By utilizing small compressor packages to reduce the casinghead gas pressure, many producers are achieving dramatic increases in oil production from older fields. Hour two will focus on advances in vapor recovery. Tightening regulatory requirements, high prices for BTU rich gas, and a major jump in emission compliance litigation have led to many producers to rethink their payback economics for vapor recovery. The final hour will review compressor types, including rotary vane, rotary screw, liquid ring, and reciprocating – explain the strengths and weaknesses of each as well as the optimum range of applications. Hy-Bon Engineering has over 50 years experience in this arena and is a global leader in the capture and handling of low pressure gas – with units operating in over 20 countries and over 250 rental units operating in low pressure applications.

Speakers:
Bio: Larry Richards joined Hy Bon Engineering in March 2003 as the company’s new president. Mr. Richards, a graduate of Texas A&M, previously served as Vice President, Operations Support for Key Energy. Prior to joining Key, Mr. Richards held several roles at Continental Emsco Company, including Vice President of Operations for the Engineered Products Group and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the company.

Bio: James Sidebottom, Vice President and General Manager of Hy-Bon Engineering, is a civil engineering graduate of the University of Kentucky. During his seven years with Hy-Bon, Mr. Sidebottom served as Engineering Manager and has been instrumental in the design of hundreds of packages capturing low pressure gas from oilfield and refinery service to landfills and breweries.

  Hy-Bon Engineering Presents for The Oklahoma Commission
  on Marginally Producing Oil and Gas Wells (back to top)

Hy-Bon Engineering has been selected by the Oklahoma Commission on Marginally Producing Oil and Gas Wells to be the lead presenter in their Spring 2004 Technical Seminar Series. The seminar schedule will be as follows:

April 27th, 2004 – Ada, Oklahoma
April 28th, 2004 – Woodward, Oklahoma
April 29th, 2004 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The three, six hour technical seminars will be an in depth review of utilizing low pressure gas management to increase production and operator revenue. Each technology will be explained in detail.

Hy-Bon will present case studies on casinghead gas reduction technology, and the dramatic production increases this technology has produced in many mature oil basins. In addition, Hy-Bon will present several operator case studies showing successful vapor recovery projects. In these projects, the operators were able to successfully capture venting methane gas for multiple pieces of production equipment and oil stock tanks, and add significant revenue streams from existing operations from a gas stream that was previously flared or vented to the atmosphere. Payback economics for most of these projects, with today’s commodity prices, were less than six months.
The final section of the seminar will review each compressor type utilized in low pressure gas management, the application ranges, and strengths and weaknesses of each. Each compressor type is outstanding in it’s niche application, but many are misapplied across the industry. Participants should leave the seminar with a strong understanding of the fundamentals of low pressure gas management – and multiple field examples of successful implementation of these technologies.

  Hy-Bon Engineering Presents for Permian Basin
  Society of Petroleum Engineers (back to top)

Hy-Bon Engineering has been selected to speak at the joint meeting of the Permian Basin Reservoir and Production Operations Groups. The presentation on Thursday, March 18, 2004 will focus on case studies and actual field examples from the Permian Basin

TITLE: “Increasing Profits Using Low Pressure Gas Management;
Practical Applications in the Permian Basin”

SPEAKER: Larry Richards and James Sidebottom, Hy-Bon Engineerin

ABSTRACT:
In the effort to wrench additional dollars from existing production, more and more producers are turning to the use of low horsepower compression to boost revenue. Whether capturing high BTU gas from stock tanks, or utilizing casinghead gas reduction units to boost oil production from mature fields, today’s commodity prices and the success of many operators make investigating advancements in this technology compelling.

In this three part presentation, Hy-Bon Engineering will share experiences from 52 years of providing low pressure gas management systems in Permian Basin fields.

• Part one will focus on vapor recovery. Three major issues are driving a current focus on vapor recovery: a) tightening regulatory requirements on methane emissions b) the recent jump in litigation regarding failure to capture these emissions and c) current commodity prices dramatically impacting payback economics. Modeling software to assist in the determination of tank vapors will be reviewed, and then specific case studies outlining the results achieved on several Permian Basin projects will be shared.

• Part two will focus on the growing field of casinghead gas reduction, technology advances in this area, and the recommended process for testing a field utilizing this type of equipment. Hy-Bon will share experiences gained from their 200+ rental fleet on which areas seem to respond to this technology, and the strengths and weaknesses encountered.

• Part three will review the design criteria and optimum range of application for each of the compressor types used in the capture of low pressure gas – including rotary vane, rotary screw, reciprocating, liquid ring and others.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Larry Richards joined Hy Bon Engineering in March 2003 as the company’s new president. Mr. Richards, a graduate of Texas A&M, previously served as Vice President, Operations Support for Key Energy. Prior to joining Key, Mr. Richards held several roles at Continental Emsco Company, including Vice President of Operations for the Engineered Products Group and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the company. During his tenure at Continental Emsco, Mr. Richards was responsible for Emsco’s AFS product line – which included vapor recovery, LACT units, and gas booster systems.

James Sidebottom, Vice President and General Manager of Hy-Bon Engineering, is a civil engineering graduate of the University of Kentucky. During his seven years with Hy-Bon, Mr. Sidebottom served as Engineering Manager and has been instrumental in the design of hundreds of packages capturing low pressure gas from oilfield and refinery service to landfills and breweries.

  Hy-Bon Engineering Expands Facility (back to top)

May 5, 2004

Hy-Bon Engineering announces expansion of it’s Midland manufacturing facility. Construction is now complete on the facility expansion, which includes the addition of a new steam bay facility, and state of the art painting operation. According to Hy-Bon president, Larry Richards, “these additions will add significantly to our throughput capability, and allow better control of time schedules and quality control by limiting our outsource requirements.”
In addition, Hy-Bon is roughly doubling the size of it’s machining operations. This growth includes the addition of a large diameter horizontal boring mill, and additional compressor testing apparatus. “Our goal is to provide our customers one total solution for compressor components and repair – including any size of AC, Fuller, Hy-Bon, LeRoi, Gardner Denver or Quincy compressor.”

Hy-Bon Engineering, formed in 1952, is engaged in engineering and manufacturing of gas boosters, vapor recovery systems, and casinghead pressure reduction systems for the oil industry, waste water, landfill and industrial applications.

"As president of Hy-Bon Engineering, I pledge the full resources and undivided attention of our employees toward meeting your compression needs, large or small"

– Larry S. Richards, President

Hy-Bon Engineering provides leading edge design and fabrication of customized compressor packages for handling low pressure gas streams. Regardless of the application: whether gas from oilfield stock tanks, casinghead gas, field gas collection, or biogas from wastewater facilities, digester tanks, landfills or breweries, Hy-Bon can design the package required. Hy-Bon also designs and manufactures custom CNG packages for municipal applications.

A global industry leader since 1952, Hy-Bon units currently operate in over 20 countries – ranging from offshore to desert service. Our units are employed to capture diverse gas streams ranging from methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide to extremely complex landfill and petrochemical gases.

Specializing in applications under 1,200 horsepower, Hy-Bon is an authorized packager of many different compressor styles – including rotary screw, rotary (sliding) vane, reciprocating, liquid ring, beam gas compressors and jet pump systems. This experience and versatility allows Hy-Bon to focus on the most economical approach and best overall technical solution for your gas stream.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Are you seeking a rewarding position with a successful company?

We would like to hear from you.

For job opportunities, please contact our HR department at :
employment@hy-bon.com