Saved by Zero
The dry desert climes of Midland, Texas, can easily push sizzling-hot summers into October. But during a trip last week to the Permian, Justin Mecklenburg was greeted with temps in the 70s—a hallelujah respite for workers who call the oilfield their office. He recalls the surprise cool-down, even for a day or so, was all anyone could talk about with conversations quickly turning to the cold West Texas winter ahead, and invariably, haunts of Winter Storm Uri.
Reese Energy Consulting today is catching up with Mecklenburg, CEO of Kingfisher, Okla-based NeoInsulation, who takes us back to that February in 2021 when a catastrophic freeze crippled nearly the entire state. The event triggered a reckoning for producers and midstreamers operating in the nation’s largest oilfield who not only suffered heavy revenue losses due to shutdowns but also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment repairs. Mecklenburg says that while basin operators in Northern states expect brutal winters, those in Texas and Okla., don’t—but all it takes is one week-long storm to reconsider taking the risk.
Formed in 2013, NeoInsulation now counts more than 7,000 no-fail installations across the country, including Alaska—200 of which were tested by Uri. The company distinguishes itself by manufacturing and installing patent-protected, customized, removable, and reusable insulation solutions. When used along with heat trace, NeoInsulation protects valves, pipes, vessels, fittings, tank batteries, wellheads, separators, and heater/treaters from damaging cold and ice with zero fails. NeoInsulation maintains field offices in Okla., Texas, Wyo., N.D., and Penn.