Brownline Canada has successfully executed a 220 meter deep drill crossing the Mackenzie River.
Some years ago, an investigation has been held to explore slope instability of the Mackenzie River, at approximately 10km east of Fort Simpson, NWT. The results of this investigation showed that a redesign was necessary and an existing 12” line had to be shut down as a precautionary measure.
The redesign called for the replacement of this pipeline to be placed considerably deeper than the previous installation at 145-150m below the Mighty Mackenzie River. This allowed the new 12” pipe section to be installed back into stable ground conditions where slope instability would no longer be an issue.
An intersect with our Radar tool was planned due to the length of the crossing as well as to keep drilling fluid pressures lower during the pilot hole operations. Annular Pressures were closely monitored to eliminate any potential environmental impacts of a possible fluid release into or around the river.
Using the Gyro Steering Tools with Radars the intersect was completed at the exact planned location with no deviation. The 2200m long pilot was completed within specified tolerances and on schedule.