PLCA Announces New President at Annual Convention

Dan Murphy, of Precision Pipeline, was introduced as the new president of the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) during the association’s 64th annual convention, Feb. 21-25, at the Park Hyatt Aviara, in Carlsbad, Calif. 

PLCA represents the mainline oil and gas contractors from across the United States. Its annual meeting is always well attended and this year was no exception with more than 550 conventioneers.
 
The 2011 PLCA president was Chris Leines, of Minnesota Ltd., and he was the focal point of this year’s convention. Leines and his wife, Wendy, were the hosts at many of the events. Leines reported in 2011 that 3,037 miles of new pipeline were constructed. Plus, 722 miles of pipelines were tested. The construction value was $3.82 billion. This was a 45 percent increase in miles compared to 2010 and 11 percent increase in revenue.

Every other year, an auction is held by Ritchie Bros. This was the case this year, and Butch Graham of Ritchie Bros. was the auctioneer and emcee. The auction raised $500,000, followed the next day by an additional $100,000 donation, for a total of $600,000. At the convention, PLCA awarded 20 four-year scholarships at $8,000 per year to PLCA members.

This year Steve Ford, of the Wall Street Journal and the Fox Business Network, discussed positive prognostications for pipelines during a business session. He particularly focused on the Keystone XL pipeline, which the Obama administration had recently denied. The Keystone project was a hot topic throughout the convention.

The Annual Banquet and Floor Show featured country and western entertainer Jake Owen. At the banquet, along with Murphy being introduced as the 2012 president, the PLCA also announced John Allen, of Pipe Line Constructors, as 2012 first vice president; Ronnie Wise, of Price Gregory International, as second vice president; and Frank Welch, of Rockford Corp. as treasurer. 

The 2013 PLCA Convention will be held Feb. 12-16, at the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz.