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Work isn’t always fun.
Sometimes our hands have to get a little dirty in order for the job to get done.
But that’s OK.
That’s when Hot Energy Services in Houma thrives and does some of their best work.
Open since the 1980s, the oilfi eld service company continues to evolve, possessing a number of useful skills including the cleaning of storage tanks, paraffin removal, environmental cleanup and just about anything else that makes off shore work more efficient.
Vice President of Operations Zack Giroir said the company thrives because each of its hands is skilled and experienced at the tasks the company works to complete.
“We do a lot of stuff ,” Giroir said. “We have 16 employees and combined, they have more than 300 years of combined experience. Companies use our services to have a smoother run. We’re the ones
who help make sure that everything that happens out there is as effi cient as possible.”
For Hot Energy Services, Houma has been the company’s home from day one, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.
The business started in 1988 and is owned by a group out of Oklahoma City that specializes in oilfi eld service work.
Businessman Michael Platt is the company’s president.
Giroir said Hot Energy Services has maintained its day-to-day operations, out of a couple different buildings, but they’ve all been in Houma.
Today, the company operates on 921 Dunn St. – right on the side of the tunnel on the west side part of town.
Giroir said the business’s top clients are Hilcorp, Swift Energy Company, Texas Petroleum, Whitney Oil & Gas, Dimension Oil & Gas, Energy XXI and Tanner Resources, among other companies.
“Houma is home,” Giroir said. “This is where we’ve always been.”
Since their start in operations, Giroir said efficiency has been Hot Energy Service’s calling card and through that mantra, the company has evolved to encompasses many things.
One of the main jobs the company focuses on is paraffin removal – a process that saves drilling companies time and money.
Paraffin is a waxy material that is found at drill sites during the extraction of oil from the earth’s surface.
While oil is being pulled up to the surface, paraffin often clogs the line, which causes the extraction process to take much longer if the problem isn’t remedied.
“It’s like if someone has an artery that’s blocked. Obviously that means the right amount of blood can’t flow through the heart, which causes a big problem,” Giroir said. “It’s almost the exact same thing. This paraffin comes in and clogs up the line and stops the flow from being as clean as it should. We have a way of going in there and keeping things flowing.”
Once that process is complete, Hot Energy Services is just getting started.
Giroir said the company is licensed and certified to clean up the work site and move hazardous materials and chemicals to where they’re properly taken care of.
“There are some dangerous chemicals out there,” Giroir said. “We go in there, remove those things and bring them to disposal sites so that they can be handled in the right way.”
The company is also on the scene if something goes wrong in the extraction process.
Giroir said Hot Energy Services has several workers trained in environmental cleanup – a skill that comes in handy when any problems arise.
As soon as oil begins leaking in the water, Giroir said Hot Energy employees can get on the scene to contain, then begin work on eliminating the problem.
“We have experience in emergency spills,” Giroir said. “We are trained and have the ability to get out there and clean it up. We also have the equipment to clean the tools used in the industry. We can pressure wash oily equipment and other things that need it after the job takes place.”
Just about anything that makes the job easier, Hot Energy Services is willing to do it.
Giroir said that’s the recipe that’s allowed the company to stay rockin’ – more than 25 years running.
The vice president said the company has seen its business slow in the economic downturn, but he believes it’ll pick back up as the industry stabilizes and the price of oil slowly trots back up.
“It’s a little down,” Giroir said. “But we’re hopeful it can get back up. We like what we do. We maximize oil production for the oil majors.
“We do some of the work people don’t think about. But we do it with a smile.” •
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