HDD Drilling Topics

Auger Boring Record Set by Perco Engineering Services

Perco Engineering Services Ltd., Northampton, England, installed 17 under-track rail crossings (UTX) in Nottinghamshire, in what is considered the largest single auger-boring project ever undertaken in the United Kingdom.

The UTX installations were required to enable power cables to pass under a double-track railway line, connecting a new power station to the national grid.

Using two Bohrtec BM 400 auger rigs, Perco crews worked out of two separate concrete launch pits, which were 100 feet long and 23 feet deep, allowing a depth of 16 feet from rail track level to the plane of the guided auger bore shots.

Spaced 10 feet apart, nine shots were made from the first pit, with eight being made from the second. Each shot installed nearly 100 feet of 18-inch OD clay pipe, ready to accept the client’s MDPE ducting to carry the power cables. Perco then grouted the annulus between the clay and MDPE pipes.

Ground conditions varied across the 17 auger boring operations – from heavy clay soils to sand and ballast. Crews worked around the clock, 7 days a week, and carried out all lifting operations. Although delays were encountered, the project was completed in 5 weeks, and with no interruption to rail services.

GeoEngineers' Eustis Honored

At its recent officer installation luncheon, the Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers presented Charlie Eustis the 2009 Outstanding Civil Engineer award. Eustis is a principal geotechnical engineer at GeoEngineers Inc., and is based at the firm’s Baton Rouge, La., office. GeoEngineers is a national earth science engineering and technology company that serves clients in the energy, transportation, development and water and natural resources markets.

The Crossing Co.'s Expansion

The Crossing Co., a leading provider of trenchless services in Canada, has completed a complementary acquisition – the purchase of The HDD Co., located in Sacramento, Calif. This acquisition gives The Crossing Co. immediate access to the large volume of pipeline projects currently underway in the United States. The HDD Co. was started in 1998 by Neil Swope, who will remain the president of the U.S. division based in southern California, and will report to Ryan MacLean, president of The Crossing Co. The Crossing Co. group of companies now includes The Crossing Co., Rampro, The Crossing Co. LRD and The HDD Co. The combined group now operates 14 large HDD rigs, and a fleet of tunneling, augering and pipe ramming equipment.

Innovation is Awarded

Baker Hughes Inteq has won the 2009 Intervention & Coiled Tubing Association’s Intervention Technology Award for its rib-steered motor (RSM) for coiled-tubing directional drilling. The award recognizes outstanding technical innovation that reduces risk, increases production, improves safety or minimizes environmental impact. Baker Hughes says that its RSM tool represents the next generation in coiled tubing and reentry drilling technology. The tool combines the borehole construction abilities of closed-loop rib-steering technology with the drilling performance of the company’s X-treme pre-contoured motors. This innovation allows for smooth, straight trajectories, eliminating the need for the undulating well paths typically associated with coiled tubing drilling. Years of coiled-tubing drilling experience shows that quality wellbores reduce drillstring drag, allowing for optimal extended reach capabilities and 3-D steering.