Coonrod Electric
As south Texas’s Eagle Ford Shale continues to be a hotbed of oil and gas production, energy companies need partners they can rely on. Coonrod Electric strives to be that partner by providing electrical distribution systems to firms working in the region.
C.W. “Clif” Coonrod founded Coonrod Electric in Sinton, Texas, in 1956. Clif Coonrod’s son, Tony Coonrod, now runs the business, making it a second-generation family company. Since its beginnings, Coonrod Electric has provided turnkey electrical and instrumentation construction for the oil, gas and agriculture industries across south Texas. Although the bulk of the company’s business today is in the exploration and production, pipeline, refinery and petrochemical markets, Coonrod Electric continues to serve agriculture customers such as cotton gins and grain elevators and also provides lighting systems for sports fields and stadiums in the area, according to the company.
Coonrod Electric has the employees, expertise and materials needed to fulfill the scope of virtually any project. The company has installed and maintained electrical distribution systems in a range of sizes, and can also modify or expand existing systems. In addition to electrical systems, Coonrod Electric builds compression stations, tank farms, salt water disposal stations and lease automatic custody transfer (LACT) units used for measuring the volume of crude oil and petroleum as it moves through different parts of the supply chain. “With our extensive knowledge and history in the oil and gas industry, you can count on us to provide timely solutions with quality workmanship,” Coonrod Electric says.
Complete Services
Clear communication with the client is a key part of designing each customized electrical control system, Coonrod Electric says. Each system must meet the specific needs of the customer’s situation and operations. The company can handle every phase of the project – design, fabrication, construction and maintenance – to deliver a completed electric system that is ready for use. On each project, Coonrod’s services include 24/7 emergency repair, project management, testing, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)-rated enclosures and excavation.
The company also coordinates permitting, installs cable trays and equipment pads, motor control centers, meter loops, fiber optics and performs utility distribution. True to its commitment to handling all aspects of construction, the company even fabricates its own high-quality control panels and support assemblies.
“Coonrod Electric understands the value and necessity of accurate and dependable process control and monitoring,” the company says. “With our extensive experience in programmable logic control systems, we help our clients devise cost-effective and innovative solutions to reduce down-time and provide asset protection.”
Designing the utility distribution can be a challenge at any facility, but whether utility lines are routed overhead or underground, Coonrod Electric guarantees that it can supply the proper amount of power a project needs. For overhead distribution, the company installs utility poles and overhead lines, removes and replaces damaged utility poles and transformers and anchors utility poles.
In an aboveground setup, Coonrod Electric can complete the custom installation of cable trays and support structures, install grounding applications and secure laid cable. Underground distribution services include complete excavation, installation of rigid PVC conduits and cable pull. For those clients needing the fastest data access, Coonrod Electric can also build out fiber-optic networks.
Additionally, Coonrod Electric offers corrosion protection to ensure the safe and efficient operation of pipeline networks, distribution facilities, marine environments and power plants, according to the company.
Growing Market
The company boasts dozens of clients working around the Eagle Ford Shale area, including Atlas Pipeline, Buckeye Energy Partners, the city of Sinton, ExxonMobil Pipeline, Gulf Coast Cooperative, Marathon Oil, Mirage Industrial, Praxair and Tennessee Pipeline.
Even as oil prices have fallen below $50 a barrel, the Eagle Ford Shale remains a lucrative resource for many companies in the energy business. The number of drilling permits issued on the shale rose from 4,416 in 2013 to 5,613 in 2014, according to the Railroad Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the oil and gas industries in the Lone Star State.
Permits were lower through the first half of 2015, with only 1,528 issued, but production remained high. Between January and June, the Eagle Ford Shale produced 5.185 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
million barrels of oil per day, compared to 5.05 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and 1.05 million barrels of oil per day in 2014, according to Railroad Commission of Texas data.
continued investment in the Eagle Ford Shale will lead to increased opportunities for supporting companies such as Coonrod Electric. “From design and development to continued technical support, our expert programmers can guarantee [clients’] systems operate efficiently,” the company says.