Houston companies grow from evolving energy standards

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Matthew M Perry

Mike Squyres, president and CEO of Flow-Cal Inc., believes better energy measurement standards will create more business.

Jordan Blum

Reporter- Houston Business Journal

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The shale revolution has led to the U.S. leading the world in oil production, but the so-called "crew change" of industry veterans retiring is occurring simultaneously with new industry standards coming into play for oil and gas measurements and more.

So energy software companies, such as Houston-based Flow-Cal Inc. and more, are growing to help fill the void created by the business boom and the lack of available talent.

The industry's focus has shifted from natural gas to oil in recent years, but Flow-Cal President and CEO Mike Squyres said most energy companies are using outdated liquids measurement systems that date back decades, thanks to grandfathered statuses.

"A lot of these guys grew up in the oilfield and ascended to offices. They are great at interpreting things by intuition and field experience," Squyres said.

However, this group will soon retire.

"Going forward, we need to rely on boundaries and parameters based on software," he said.

Some companies still operate with measurements printed on paper, like the "Dark Ages," he said. With the evolution of flow computers and more, the energy sector is slowly moving toward more industry-wide standards, such as those created by the American Petroleum Institute, with which Flow-Cal is a partner.

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There are more third-party software companies entering the space as more companies switch to using uniform API standards, rather than their own internal systems. Software linked to uniform industry standards is only in its infancy for liquid hydrocarbons, Squyres said. It has mostly happened already with natural gas, he said.

Jordan Blum covers energy for the Houston Business Journal. Read the top Texas energy news in our free weekly newsletter, Energy Inc. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Inc. newsletter.