Above: Sapphire Gas Solutions partnered with sister company, Mesa Natural Gas Solutions, to provide clean, reliable fuel and power to the Arizona hot-mix plant pictured above. Sapphire has many permanent LNG installations located throughout the United States. Inset: Sapphire customizes their systems for each individual customer. Pictured inset above is a mobile asphalt plant in Texas with a mobile LNG fueling system that follows the plant wherever it goes.
Sapphire Gas Solutions CalAPA member, Blue Road Solutions merges with Thigpen Solutions to become Sapphire Gas Solutions — a nationwide leader in the mobile, off-pipe natural gas industry By Brian Hoover, CMS
BP Energy Partners has announced the merger of Dallas, TX-based Blue Roads Solutions and Conroe, TX-based Thigpen Solutions, to become Sapphire Gas Solutions. As an innovative, full-service leader in the virtual pipeline industry, Sapphire Gas Solutions (Sapphire) is led by Thigpen founder and CEO, Sam Thigpen. Blue Road’s own, Justin Cordon, has been named chief integration officer for Sapphire, as the new company leverages Blue Roads' distribution capabilities with Thigpen's service expertise. "This expands the capabilities of the two firms from regional delivery to a nationwide presence, with our promise of 22
best-in-class service," said Sam Thigpen, CEO of Sapphire Gas Solutions. "We will offer a greater set of solutions to our diverse and expanding customer base. Additionally, by combining these two service-oriented companies, we can create opportunities for operational efficiencies as they arise." Thigpen was founded in Oct. 2005 and gained notoriety by fueling drilling rigs and hydraulic fracturing pumps with natural gas. They quickly became known as one of the leading natural gas fueling providers while working in many shale plays throughout North America. They eventually shifted their focus to providing
natural gas via virtual pipeline CNG and LNG solutions. Blue Roads has assisted in numerous industrial applications, increasing their operational industry standards along the way. Their focus in California has been on the asphalt and aggregate industries, and this will continue with even more assets and enthusiasm through this recent merger. Due to ongoing regulatory challenges concerning installing new gas pipelines, many businesses and utilities are seeking off-pipe deliveries of natural gas, known as virtual pipelines. These natural gas solutions typically provide
California Asphalt Magazine • 2020 Quality Issue
