Pipeline Services Pie. Who has the largest pieces of $25 Billion?

From 2013 through 2017, pipeline companies spent over $25 billion for outside services from vendors that provide services ranging from mainline construction and specialty construction services to law firms and environmental consultants. The money spent grew substantially over that five year period. In 2017 alone, the industry spent 40% more than it had in 2013 and 2014 combined.

Pipeline Companies' Annual Services Spend

By diving into the data filed annually by the pipelines, we can identify not only which companies are capturing the biggest market share, but also gain insight into the types of services pipeline companies need.

The Big Picture

Over the five-year period we analyzed, approximately 200 companies received over $3 million annually, receiving almost $21 billion of the total spent. But all is not lost for the small companies; the remaining $4 billion was spread among more than 2,000 vendors that, on average, received approximately $400,000 per year over the five-year period. Among the 200 companies that received the lion’s share of the expenditures, 75% of the expenditures, or $15.5 billion, was paid to engineering and construction companies. We break these down into four main subgroups: mainline construction contractors, specialty services construction contractors, engineering companies, and construction contractors for facilities and smaller pipelines.

Pipeline Services Spend by Category

Mainline Contractors

The top ten mainline contractors over the five-year period were:

A simple look at the totals, however, does not provide a complete picture. For example, while Precision Pipeline received the highest total amount, it received almost all of that amount from one company, Rover Pipeline, in one year, 2017, an amount which represented all but 4% of its total. Contrast that with Price Gregory, which received its total earnings more evenly over the five years, and from ten different pipeline companies, with no single company representing more than 40% of its income over the period. The company with the most diverse sources of revenue among the top ten appears to be Michels Corp., which worked for 17 different companies over the five-year period and which had no more than 33% of its revenue derived from a single company.

Specialty Contractors

The top five specialty contractors over the five-year period were:

Specialty contractors focus on particular aspects of the construction process, and generally will not be the prime contractor for a construction project. The top three contractors in this category provide a range of services, such as construction management, pipeline and facility inspection, and materials management. Some specialty contractors are particularly focused on very specific aspects of pipeline construction. For example, JAN X-Ray is focused on nondestructive testing and inspection solutions, and PAL-CON specializes in manufacturing and servicing gas turbine regenerators.

Engineering Companies

The top five engineering companies over the five-year period were:

As with the mainline contractors, a deeper dive into the earnings of each of these companies reveals a more nuanced story than one gets from looking at the overall numbers. For example, QPS Engineering earned all of its revenue from five pipeline companies, while Mott MacDonald worked for 25 different pipelines over the five-year period. The other three companies had their revenue distributed among a number of pipelines somewhere between these two extremes.

Construction Contractors (Facilities and Smaller Diameter Pipelines)

The top five construction companies for facilities and smaller diameter pipelines over the five-year period were:

The top four contractors in this category all focus their work on the construction of gas transmission facilities, such as compressor stations, whereas CECO Pipeline Services provides pipeline construction, maintenance services (including coating repair), and above-ground painting.


While the business of providing services to major pipeline developers can certainly be lucrative, as in any business, there are risks. Welded Construction, which just missed being in the top ten list for mainline contractors, filed for bankruptcy in October. In support of its petition for relief, Welded Construction explained that it was facing a liquidity crisis that Welded Construction alleged had been caused by The Williams Company unexpectedly withholding a $23 million payment to the company. When the withholding of payment became public, other customers began demanding assurances that any payments made to Welded Construction would be solely deployed toward expenses related to the customer’s projects, and not others, which resulted in the liquidity crisis that led to the bankruptcy.


Similarly, Willbros, whose engineering group made the top five list in the Engineering category, had been a profitable publicly traded company that provided both engineering and construction services to the industry. However, after its stock traded below the $1 mark for an extended period, it announced that it would become a subsidiary of Primoris, which completed its acquisition this summer.


As with other data we have, we can help you analyze this information to discern its impact on your business. Please let us know how we might assist you.

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• Analysis of Wave 3 of 501G filings

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