Engineered Concepts - Who are these guys?

Though often confused with other companies offering “me too” vapor recovery, emissions control and oil and gas production equipment, Engineered Concept’s history, approach and innovation are anything but conventional. In the over 50 years of production equipment manufacturing, Olman Heath/Engineered Concepts has never had to remove a piece of production equipment due to its inability to provide the promised results. Not many, if any manufacturers can match that record. Here’s our story.

An Innovative “Field Experience” Beginning

In 1959, a young Southern Union production superintendent, Rodney Heath, founded Olman Heath Company, which eventually evolved into Engineered Concepts.  Olman Heath engineered and manufactured a new-patented production unit called the HLP (High – Low Production) unit.  This unique production unit addressed the high paraffin problems of wells in the San Juan Basin and later became an industry standard throughout the Western U.S.  Over the years, the Olman Heath product line grew to include dehydrators, heaters, treaters, other production unit designs, separators, compressors, tanks, etc.   Insisting on field reliability as one of the primary principles of equipment design, Olman Heath specialized in equipment specifically designed to handle the irregular maintenance intervals and other operating demands caused by the rugged terrain and severe weather conditions found in Wyoming, Colorado and other western states. To this day, many 1960s and 1970s vintage Olman Heath units can be found still operating in the field.

Decades of Experience and Innovation Spawns Engineered Concepts

In 1980, Olman Heath was acquired by Weatherford International and became the Production Equipment Division with the core employee group intact.  In 1985, this Division was divested to the Division employee group to form US Enertek.  The core employee group (including Rodney and his two sons) never changed over the course of the mergers and divestitures.  Now, 31 patents later, 10 patents pending and a reputation as a quality manufacturer of oil and gas processing equipment these key personnel formed today’s Engineered Concepts.

THE Engineered Concept

In 2000, Rodney Heath (ME Texas A&M), Gary Heath (ME OU) and Forrest Heath (ChE Texas A&M) formed Engineered Concepts with the stated mission of developing processes and equipment that provide for 100% usage of all hydrocarbons produced by a well with zero hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere. In short, develop a new generation of equipment and processes that provide maximum profits to the operator by eliminating the inefficiencies, emissions and waste in traditional equipment and processes. In 20__ Engineered Concepts acquired a fabrication facility in Claremore, Oklahoma to package Engineered Concepts products and named it Heath Technologies.

The First Hydrocarbon Emissions Free Dehydrator

The first process designed to fulfill Engineered Concepts’ mission statement was the Quantum Leap Natural Gas Dehydration Process (QLD).  After a lengthy prototyping effort, this process was first commercially installed for Kerr McGee at their Fort Lupton facility.  The installation garnered interest from the EPA who commissioned an Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) study, which confirmed the efficiency and operational integrity of the process in 2003.

While a technical success, the QLD saw limited industry acceptance as EPA guidelines continued to permit oil and gas companies to install less effective and less expensive equipment.  As the emissions from dehydrators are relatively small in comparison to other on-site equipment, the current payback on a QLD system varies from 6 months to 2 years depending on the size of the well and the well stream composition. With greater emission scrutiny and inevitable new environmental guidelines, the QLD is becoming a product of interest for the future.  Six QLD processes have been built and successfully commissioned. However, the silver lining behind the development of the QLD technology lies in the fact that derivative technologies were soon applied to an economically feasible and reliable method to recover vapor from tanks.

QLD Leads to a Vapor Recovery Breakthrough

Employing the ideas that formed the QLD process, coupled with an innovative approach to attain precise process temperature control, and with the goal of addressing the many problems associated with conventional vapor recovery processes, Engineered Concepts developed the Vapor Recovery System Alternative (VRSA).  Over the last two years, 20 VRSAs have been built, commissioned, customer verified and field proven.  Gradually the oil and gas industry has begun to embrace the process and Engineered Concepts’ expertise as “the way to go” for vapor recovery.  From field experience and customer input, new innovative VRSA designs that positively eliminate oxygen ingress from the tanks and stabilize the liquid products have been developed.  These new recovery options are now available providing a total solution for vapor recovery that is reliable year around regardless of weather condition.

Fewer Emissions Means Significant Profit

Engineered Concepts now offers equipment that combines the QLD and VRSA processes into one piece of equipment to service a complete well site – simultaneously collecting emissions from the dehydrator and from the tanks with an end result of a highly profitable, and virtually emissions free location. 

Field Proven Results

Since its inception in 2000, Engineered Concepts has been issued seven patents with 10 patents pending.  These patents and patents pending cover the QLD, VRSA and a high efficiency burner system (ASAC) that reduces the emissions and operational costs of natural draft firetubes by as much as 50%.  All Engineered Concepts products and processes are field proven to increase income by capitalizing on the significant volumes of hydrocarbons that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere.

Technologies that Truly Deliver-Year Around

Through innovative thinking experience and constant review of actual field results. Engineered Concepts can deliver real world solutions NOW with equipment that operates reliably in the field under all conditions- year around.