Tuesday, I ran across an article in the Wall Street Journal from reporter Ben Casselman about the issues with aging oil rigs and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Many were built pre-1990 and years of salt, wind and hurricanes have taken their told. It’s a problem that needs to be address and with the increased scrutiny on the industry as a result of the oil spill, I think it will be.
Houston companies are leading the charge to address these issues. Smart Pipe, a client of the Houston Technology Center is one of those companies. Their pipeline product is designed to combat corrosion and aging in difficult to maintain pipelines. This solves several of the problems Casselman highlights in his article.
Companies like Smart Pipe and other HTC clients are working to solve problems, improve processes and develop new technology, keeping Houston in the forefront of the global energy conversation.