Kelley Construction is a US-based industrial and commercial general contractor specialising in site civil works, tank ring-wall foundations and earthworks for the oil, gas and chemical terminal sector. Founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1978 and operating for over 35 years in the midstream and downstream infrastructure market, Kelley Construction is a third-generation family-owned business with offices in Louisville, Bowling Green (Kentucky), Grapevine and The Colony (Texas) — a footprint that places it at the centre of both the Midwest refining corridor and the Gulf Coast and Permian Basin terminal development market.
Company Overview
Kelley Construction was established in 1978 and has grown from a regional Kentucky contractor into a national firm with a dedicated industrial division focused on oil and gas, chemical, power and energy, and specialty industrial construction. The company describes itself as a third-generation family business, with the Kelley name carrying 45 years of association with technical expertise and schedule-focused delivery. Day-to-day leadership references Joe Kelley at the principal level, with a project management and field team structure that serves both local clients and those with national multi-site construction programmes.
Kelley Construction operates across four offices: headquarters at 12550 Lake Station Place, Louisville, Kentucky, with additional locations in Bowling Green, Grapevine, Texas and The Colony, Texas. The Texas offices position the company directly within the Permian Basin and DFW-area terminal development markets — two of the most active zones for new tank terminal construction in the United States in 2026. The company uses cloud-based, real-time technology management tools across its project delivery workflow, from estimating through to final completion, and maintains a proactive safety programme aligned with the requirements of ISNetworld and owner-operator qualification systems across the energy sector.
Core Services: Tank Foundations and Site Civil Works
Kelley Construction’s competitive position in the oil, gas and chemical market is built around one critical discipline: the site development and tank foundation work that precedes mechanical tank erection. This scope — which includes ring-wall foundations, seal slabs, sand pads, mass earthworks, dike construction, containment walls, access roads, storm water systems and underground utilities — sits on the critical path of every tank terminal project. Delays in civil works cascade directly into mechanical and process start dates, making schedule reliability the primary selection criterion for terminal owners awarding this scope.
Kelley Construction delivers ring-wall foundations for aboveground storage tanks across a range of sizes, from single-tank brownfield projects to multi-tank greenfield terminals. The company handles full site development packages: site clearing and grubbing, SWPPP implementation, mass cut and fill earthworks, access road construction, dike liner installation, retention pond construction, pipe rack supports and building foundations. It also self-performs the coordination of civil scope with tank erection contractors where both scopes run concurrently, reducing interface risk between the foundation and mechanical phases of terminal delivery.
For cryogenic applications — including LNG storage tanks and industrial gas facilities — Kelley Construction provides specialist cryogenic tank foundations, which require additional engineering for thermal performance and differential settlement control. This capability extends the company’s addressable market beyond conventional petroleum and chemical tank terminals into the LNG receiving and storage sector, an area of sustained investment across North America as documented in OGSN’s coverage of the global tank terminal market in 2026.
Key Projects and Clients
Kelley Construction’s project portfolio demonstrates consistent delivery across major energy sector clients. For Phillips 66, Kelley was awarded the site development and ring-wall foundation contract at the company’s Borger, Texas terminal upgrade — a year-long scope running from site preparation through earthen dike completion, involving 46,000 cubic yards of earthworks and a 212-foot concrete ring-wall foundation. On the same client relationship, Kelley secured the site development contract for the Three Rivers, Texas terminal associated with the 850-mile Gray Oak Pipeline — a 25-acre greenfield scope delivering four ring-wall foundations and 90,000 cubic yards of cut and fill for a 480,000 BBL terminal connecting Permian and Eagle Ford production to the Gulf Coast.
For US Oil’s greenfield petroleum and renewable products terminal in Melissa, Texas, Kelley delivered Phase I and II site development and foundation work for a 300,000 BBL facility serving the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The project involved eight ring-wall foundations across a 20-acre site and required the team to navigate unidentified rock excavation, a pandemic, an ice storm and a concrete shortage — while completing on schedule. For Texas International Terminals on the Galveston Ship Channel, Kelley constructed 16 ring-wall foundations supporting approximately 3.8 million BBL of additional liquid storage capacity — one of its largest single foundation scopes on record, covering tanks ranging from 14 feet to 150 feet in diameter. Among specialist civil contractors serving the North American tank and terminal EPC market, Kelley’s consistent delivery for named major energy clients gives it a reference base comparable to larger peers such as Matrix Service Company, which operates in the adjacent mechanical tank construction space.
Markets and Geographic Focus
Kelley Construction’s industrial division operates across midstream, downstream and energy markets throughout the United States, with a particular concentration in Texas — where Permian Basin production growth, Gulf Coast export infrastructure and intra-Texas refined product distribution continue to drive terminal construction demand. The company’s OGC (oil, gas and chemical) market experience spans pump station site works, refinery expansion civil scopes, tank terminal foundations and industrial gas facility construction, giving it breadth across the energy infrastructure value chain beyond purely terminal-focused competitors.
Outside energy, Kelley Construction operates across commercial, healthcare, food service, education and retail construction — a diversified base that provides revenue stability through commodity cycles and allows the company to deploy field teams across sectors when energy construction volumes fluctuate. The Texas office network ensures proximity to the Gulf Coast project pipeline, while the Louisville headquarters supports Midwest refinery and industrial clients. Kelley Construction also recently completed a bulk storage warehouse project in Ashtabula, Ohio on Lake Erie — signalling continued activity in the Great Lakes industrial corridor alongside its core Gulf and Midcontinent energy work.
Company Snapshot
| Founded | 1978, Louisville, Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Ownership | Third-generation family-owned |
| Offices | Louisville KY, Bowling Green KY, Grapevine TX, The Colony TX |
| OGC Experience | 35+ years in oil, gas and chemical construction |
| Core Scope | Tank ring-wall foundations, site development, earthworks, dike construction, cryogenic foundations |
| Key Clients | Phillips 66, Texas International Terminals, US Oil |
| Notable Projects | Gray Oak Pipeline – Three Rivers TX (480,000 BBL); Texas Int’l Terminals (3.8M BBL capacity added); US Oil Melissa TX (300,000 BBL greenfield) |
| Markets Served | Midstream, downstream, energy storage, industrial gas, commercial, healthcare |
| Website | kelleyconstruction.com |
What does Kelley Construction specialise in for the oil and gas sector?
Kelley Construction specialises in site civil works and tank foundation construction for oil, gas and chemical terminals. Its core scope includes ring-wall foundations for aboveground storage tanks, mass earthworks and cut and fill, dike construction and lining, SWPPP implementation, access roads, storm water systems and underground utilities. The company also constructs cryogenic tank foundations for LNG and industrial gas applications.
Where is Kelley Construction based and where does it operate?
Kelley Construction is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with additional offices in Bowling Green (Kentucky), Grapevine (Texas) and The Colony (Texas). The company operates nationally across the United States, with a significant concentration of oil, gas and chemical work in Texas — including the Permian Basin corridor and Gulf Coast terminal market.
Who are Kelley Construction’s main clients in the energy sector?
Kelley Construction’s documented energy sector clients include Phillips 66, for whom it delivered site civil works and ring-wall foundations at the Borger, Texas terminal and the Gray Oak Pipeline’s Three Rivers, Texas terminal. Other named clients include Texas International Terminals on the Galveston Ship Channel, where Kelley constructed foundations for 3.8 million barrels of additional liquid storage capacity, and US Oil, for whom it delivered a 300,000 BBL greenfield terminal in Melissa, Texas.
How long has Kelley Construction been working in oil and gas construction?
Kelley Construction has over 35 years of experience in the oil, gas and chemical (OGC) construction sector. The company was founded in Louisville in 1978 and has operated as a third-generation family-owned business throughout its history, building a reference portfolio that spans midstream pump stations, refinery expansions and tank terminal civil works across the United States.
What is a ring-wall foundation and why is it critical for tank terminals?
A ring-wall foundation is a reinforced concrete foundation structure built at the perimeter of an aboveground storage tank to distribute the tank’s load and provide structural stability. For large petroleum storage tanks — which can hold hundreds of thousands to millions of barrels — ring-wall design and construction is critical to long-term integrity and API 650 compliance. Kelley Construction delivers ring-wall foundations across a range of tank diameters and site conditions, including greenfield development and active terminal brownfield expansion.