Tie-Ins and Hot Taps on Live Systems
Connecting new line to existing systems: shut in and depressurized, or hot tapped to keep product moving.
A tie-in is where a good project can go wrong fast. We plan every one around your operation: shut-in and blowdown when you can take the downtime, a hot tap when you can't. Before anything is cut, we daylight the existing line with hydrovac so we know exactly what we're tying into.
Our welders and fitters handle the fittings, valves and spool pieces. Our crews handle the excavation, the tie-in and the test. You get one contractor accountable for the connection, start to finish.
What this scope includes
Methods
- Shut-in / depressurized tie-ins
- Hot taps on live lines
- Stopple and bypass support
Connections
- Pad-to-battery
- Battery-to-midstream
- Well connects
- Compressor and facility tie-ins
Prep
- Hydrovac daylighting
- Line location and verification
- Fitting, valve and spool fabrication
Close-out
- Testing
- Coating and backfill
- Commissioning support
Why operators choose us for this work
Expose before we cut. Hydrovac verification on every tie-in.
Our own welders. In-house welders and our own fabrication.
Planned around your production. We work your shut-in window, not ours.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 200+
- miles of pipe laid in the last 12 months
- 25+
- field crews: steel, poly & composite
- 80+
- companies under MSA, upstream & midstream
- 95%+
- of the heavy iron on our jobs is our own
Figures from Encore's 2026 company sheet.
WHERE WE WORK
We mobilize from our yard at 6101 E I-20 in Midland, Texas, and work exclusively in the Permian Basin: the Midland Basin and both the Texas and New Mexico sides of the Delaware Basin. This basin is all we do, so our crews already know its caliche, its rock, its lease roads and its operators' standards.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a hot tap?
A hot tap connects to a line while it stays in service. A fitting and valve are welded onto the live line, and a tapping machine cuts through the pipe wall under pressure, so product keeps moving.
Should we hot tap or shut in?
It comes down to what downtime costs you. If you can take a shut-in and blowdown, a depressurized tie-in is simpler. If you can't, we hot tap. We plan it around your operation either way.
What is a stopple?
A stopple isolates a section of a live line by plugging it through hot-tapped fittings, usually with a bypass so product flows around the work. We support stopple and bypass work as part of the tie-in.
How do you verify the existing line before cutting?
We locate the line and daylight it with hydrovac before any cut, so we know exactly what we're tying into.
Who builds the fittings, valves and spools?
Our own welders and fitters, including 22 certified welders. One contractor is accountable for the connection from excavation to test.
Other work we self-perform
Welding & Fabrication
Shop and field welding: headers, manifolds, spools and pipe supports, built by our own welders
Learn moreHydrovac Services
Non-destructive excavation and safe daylighting.
Learn moreGathering Systems & Flowlines
Field-wide networks connecting wellheads to infrastructure.
Learn moreNeed a connection made?
Tell us what you're tying into and how much downtime you can live with. We'll plan the tie-in around it.