Sulphur Experts

What Sulphur Experts does

Sulphur Experts Inc. is a Calgary-headquartered process engineering services firm providing consulting, on-site troubleshooting, analytical testing, and technical training for three interconnected upstream-and-refining unit operations: sulphur recovery, amine treating (natural gas sweetening), and gas dehydration. Founded in 1965 as Western Research and Development, the firm operates three branded divisions (Sulphur Experts, Amine Experts, Dehydration Experts) that collectively serve global oil and gas operators, refiners, LNG plants, midstream processors, and petrochemical producers including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, TotalEnergies, Suncor, Ecopetrol, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, PBF Energy, ENI, Repsol, QatarGas, and QAPCO. Since 2021 the company has been majority-owned by SGS, the global testing, inspection and certification group.

The company's core technology is a proprietary analytical instrumentation stack developed in-house since the 1960s and concentrated on sulphur and amine chemistry: a customized gas chromatography method using proprietary columns for sulphur speciation (H2S, COS, CS2, mercaptans, sulphides, disulphides up to C9 hydrocarbons); an FTIR-based H2S-in-liquid sulphur analyzer with 0-500 ppmv range and ±5-10% accuracy down to 2 ppmv; an Oxygen Analyzer system for SRU start-up/shutdown monitoring; the Amine Field Kit for on-site amine troubleshooting (foam test, QID solids analysis, pH, conductivity, digital refractometer); mobile field laboratories with independent power for remote deployment; and the Sulsim sulphur plant simulator, which the firm developed and sold to Aspen Technology in 2014. Service delivery is supported by HYSYS process simulation expertise and standardized sampling methodologies that have become industry reference practice.

The business model is built on multiple overlapping revenue streams. On-site technical services and engineering studies are sold on a lump-sum, daily-rate basis to enterprise buyers globally. Analytical services use the firm's research-grade equipment for laboratory and field testing. Public training courses are priced at 2,800-3,600 EUR/CAD per attendee and run multiple times per year across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America, with bundled multi-course pricing available and a separate virtual platform (Tartan Academy) for self-paced digital training. Technical Services Agreements (TSAs) provide on-demand subscription-based access to engineering hours, annual performance testing, and help desk support. Hardware products (Oxygen Analyzer, FTIR H2S analyzer, Amine Field Kit) are sold via direct inquiry. Five offices (Calgary, Kemah TX, Katwijk NL, Abu Dhabi, San Pedro de la Paz CL) support global mobilization in a parent-subsidiary structure that includes entities in Alberta, Texas, and Barbados.

Name

Sulphur Experts

Legal name

Sulphur Experts Inc.

Website

https://sulphurexperts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sulphur Experts Inc. provides consulting, on-site troubleshooting, analytical testing, and technical training for sulphur recovery, amine, and gas dehydration units, serving global oil, gas, refining, LNG, and petrochemical operators. Founded 1965 and SGS-majority-owned since 2021, the firm operates from five offices in Calgary, Kemah, Katwijk, Abu Dhabi, and Chile.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Process Engineering Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Petroleum Refining (2911), Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533)

akta.pro primary industry

Sulfur Recovery & Acid Gas Treatment (SRU, Tail Gas Treating, Amine Units) (EUALAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gas Processing & NGL Recovery (Dehydration, Sweetening, Cryogenic Recovery) (EUALAGAG), Sulfur Recovery & Tail Gas Treating (Claus, SCOT) (EUAAABAE), Acid Gas Handling & Sulfur Recovery (Amine/Claus/TGTU) (EUALACAF)

Keywords

• Sulphur recovery services
• Amine processing consulting
• Gas dehydration engineering
• Process troubleshooting support
• Technical training courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. On-Site Technical Services: On-site process engineering support, troubleshooting, testing, and optimization services. Engineers and analytical specialists deploy to client facilities globally. Pricing based on lump-sum cost focused on daily rate.
2. Analytical Services: Laboratory and field analytical testing including gas chromatography, FTIR analysis, amine/glycol solution analysis, and specialized sampling. Performed using research-grade equipment.
3. Technical Training Courses: Public regional seminars (5-day courses) and on-site customized training. Public courses priced at 2,800-3,600 EUR/CAD with early bird discounts. Multi-course bundles available. Also includes virtual training via Tartan Academy.
4. Technical Services Agreement (TSA): Ongoing support contracts providing on-demand access to engineering services with predetermined number of engineering hours. Can include annual performance testing and consulting visits. Customized to client needs.
5. Equipment Products: Sale of specialized equipment including Oxygen Analyzers, FTIR H2S-in-Liquid Sulphur Analyzers, and Amine Field Kits. Includes calibration gases and proprietary sample measurement cells.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sulphur Experts delivers on-site process engineering services, analytical testing, troubleshooting, and optimization for sulphur recovery, amine treating, and gas dehydration/refrigeration units at refineries, gas plants, LNG facilities, syngas plants, and carbon-capture sites. The firm supplements these professional services with proprietary analytical equipment (Oxygen Analyzer, FTIR H2S-in-Liquid Sulphur Analyzer, Amine Field Kit) and a global training program of multi-day public and on-site technical courses used as the industry's reference curriculum.

Product overview

Sulphur Experts is a process engineering and consulting services company with three specialized divisions: Amine Experts, Dehydration Experts, and Sulphur Experts. The company offers a portfolio of analytical equipment products (Oxygen Analyzer, FTIR H2S in Liquid Sulphur Analyzer, Amine Field Kit) combined with service offerings (Technical Help Desk, Analytical Services, Engineering Studies, On-Site Support). Training is delivered through scheduled regional courses and customized on-site programs. The company pioneered specialized sampling and analytical methods for sulphur recovery, amine treating, and gas dehydration systems, with a global presence across North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oxygen Analyzer Specialized oxygen analyzer for sulphur recovery unit monitoring during start-up and shutdown, with full 0–25% range and capability for very low concentration measurements. Includes filters/driers, fittings, and probes compatible with various sample ports and valve types. Sold to oil & gas operators and engineering firms.
• FTIR H2S-in-Liquid Sulphur Analyzer FTIR-based analyzer that measures H2S and H2Sx dissolved in liquid sulphur (35–45 second scans), with 0–500 ppmv operating range and ±5–10% accuracy at 2 ppmv levels. Designed for SRU operators assessing total H2S in raw product sulphur and effectiveness of sulphur degassing systems.
• Amine Field Kit Mobile troubleshooting kit for amine systems containing foam test equipment, QID solids analysis, pH/conductivity meters, and digital refractometer, used by company experts globally for on-site amine-system troubleshooting.
• Technical Services Agreement (TSA) Help Desk Annual contract providing on-demand access to Sulphur Experts engineers for root-cause analysis, waste-heat boiler failures, fouling/corrosion issues, turnaround planning, process hazard assessment, control-system troubleshooting, and start-up/shutdown support — equivalent to having in-house subject-matter experts.
• Analytical Services On-site and laboratory analytical testing using research-grade gas chromatographs and FTIR instrumentation, covering Amine Treating Analysis, Bulk Gas Analysis, Reflux Water/LPG Analysis, Biofeed Impact, Glycol Analysis, Water Dew Point, H2S-in-Liquid Sulphur, Process Gas, and Solid Sulphur Analysis.
• Engineering Studies Engineering consulting drawing on 50+ years of process experience, including Capacity Evaluation & Debottlenecking, Capital Project Support, Equipment Reviews, Plant Design Review, Start-up/Initial Operations Support, Process Simulation Studies (using SULSIM), Reliability Studies, Turndown/Capacity Increase Studies, and Biofeed Turndown Studies.
• On-Site Support On-site technical support including Plant Testing & Troubleshooting, Plant Inspection & Turnaround Support, Plant Start-up & Shutdown Support, Pre-Commissioning/Commissioning Support, and Performance Guarantee & Compliance Testing — delivered by field engineers from the firm's five global offices.
• Technical Training Courses Public interactive five-day technical training courses (Amine Treating & Sour Water Stripping, Sulphur Recovery, Gas Dehydration & EG-Refrigeration, Advanced Amine Treating & Sulphur Recovery) plus customized on-site programs at client sites, delivered globally with workbook materials and textbooks.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% safe, environmentally compliant, and reliable startup operations maintained for 7+ years for major refinery clients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bryan Research & Engineering (BRE): Bryan Research & Engineering is a closely held engineering consulting and process-simulation firm whose ProMax suite covers amine sweetening, sulphur recovery, and gas dehydration — the same unit operations Sulphur Experts serves. It is the most direct niche competitor, especially on the simulation/software side.
• Optimized Gas Treating (OGT) / Colberg Consulting: Colberg Consulting's Optimized Gas Treating (OGT) product is a leading simulation tool for amine and sour-water-stripping systems, and the firm provides troubleshooting and consulting in the same niche as Sulphur Experts' Amine Experts division. It competes head-to-head in amine process optimization and training.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell UOP: Honeywell UOP is the dominant licensor of refining process units, including sulphur recovery and amine treating technologies, and offers engineering services to the same IOC/NOC customers. It is a broad incumbent that can bundle SRU/amine expertise into multi-unit licensing deals that compete with Sulphur Experts' boutique offerings.
• Axens: Axens is a major refining and petrochemical process licensor whose portfolio includes hydrotreating, sulphur recovery, and amine solutions. It competes with Sulphur Experts at the technology and engineering-services layer for the same global refining customers.
• Worley Limited: Worley is a global engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm with a large hydrocarbons and energy-transition services practice. It serves the same IOC/NOC and midstream clients as Sulphur Experts but at multi-discipline project scale, often absorbing specialty sulphur/amine scopes.
• Jacobs Solutions: Jacobs Solutions provides engineering, technical, scientific, and consulting services across refining, petrochemicals, and critical infrastructure. Its process-engineering teams cover SRU, amine, and gas processing work, competing with Sulphur Experts for both standalone and integrated contracts.
• Wood Group: Wood is a global engineering and consulting firm with deep refining and gas-processing practices. It performs sulphur-plant, amine, and dehydration optimization work for the same IOCs, NOCs, and midstream operators, typically as part of larger asset-support contracts.
• KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root): KBR's Sustainable Technology Solutions and Engineering business covers refining, petrochemicals, and energy-transition projects, including gas treating and sulphur processing. It serves the same enterprise customers and can bundle specialty unit work into larger technology and EPC contracts.

Others

• SGS SA: SGS is the parent company of Sulphur Experts and the world's leading testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) firm. It is a direct corporate parent and an adjacent player in industrial testing, with overlap in process-related analytical services and a channel for cross-selling Sulphur Experts' niche expertise across its global account base.
• Intertek Group: Intertek is a global TIC company providing testing, inspection, and assurance services to the oil & gas value chain, including refineries, midstream operators, and LNG facilities. It is an adjacent peer in process-related testing and could become a partner or competitor in refinery-side analytical services that overlap with Sulphur Experts' offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SulphurExperts
• Facebookfacebook.com/SulphurExpertsInc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sulphur Experts