In the Permian Basin of West Texas and parts of New Mexico, oil production is in full swing. For that production, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe is used in a variety of applications.
HDPE pipe can handle crude oil flow, supply water, main lines, saltwater disposal, wastewater disposal, fuel transfer, gas gathering and much more.
Knowledgeable contractors are turning to Fast Fusion machines to fuse HDPE pipe quickly, meeting the stringent time and efficiency demands of the lucrative oil fields.
“In manpower and equipment needed, all of that goes away with Fast Fusion machines,” reports Chad Abatie, Southwest Regional Manager for Gajeske. Gajeske owns and operates six MobileFusion Trac® machines from Fast Fusion.
Gajeske is a dealer and distributor of polyethylene pipe, valves, fittings, fusion equipment, pumps and more. Their six Fast Fusion machines can be rented for projects out of their six Texas locations.
MobileFusion Trac® machines can “fuse” or heat weld polyethylene pipe from 4-inch to 36-inch (110 to 900mm) in diameter. Pipe fusion equipment is housed by a climate-controlled cab that allows a single operator to perform all of the fusion operations. The operator can also drive to the next string of pipe, removing the need for heavy machinery to lift and hold a pipe stick into a fusion carriage for the procedure.
“When my contractors found out we had one (MobileFusion Trac®), they wanted us to bring the Fast Fusion machine onto their jobs,” said Abatie.
“I got bombarded with phone calls. It has not stopped since we started with Fast Fusion.”
While Fast Fusion machines are designed to increase daily production by the Fast Fusion® patented weld cooling along with the incorporation of pipe handling the machines also have what is known as the FastLoad® which automatically loads the pipe into the MFT which make the MobileFusion Trac machines shine in the Permian Basin for increased production and quality fusions made. In West Texas, the wind often blows mercilessly sending fine dust into the air. Using a more safe and environmentally controlled cabin for fusion welding eliminates the dust, rain and wind that can contaminates fusion welds.
“The cab is really good. Consider the conditions out there today. Because of the cab, the pipe isn’t being contaminated by the dirt and the wind blowing it everywhere,” said Abatie. “The operator is good too. He has an A/C (air conditioning) unit and radio. He’s in his little comfort zone.”
Abatie believes these cabin amenities allow operators to have reduced fatigue, instead of fusing in the hot Texas summers.
Another threat with the fine sand and dust is flash floods that can leave the fields muddy. The MobileFusion Trac’s steel tracks keep trucking along fusing pipe no matter the surface underneath.
Fast Fusion machines are available for fusion operations around the globe.