In March 2023, Brownline USA made another major contribution to a pipeline project near Galveston. Previously, an impressive intersect was completed into the Galveston Bay. More recently, our Gyro Steering Tool and Radar add-on were deployed for another 2.5 km / 8,000 ft intersect.
Challenges
This crossing took place along the Gulf Freeway (I-45) near La Marque, between Houston and Galveston. Next to the freeway is a large swampy area that the pipeline needed to cross. This terrain meant that there was hardly any surface access possible above the drill trajectory. Moreover, the soft alluvial soils required constant monitoring to ensure that the bottom hole assembly does not deviate below the designed bore path. The pipeline was to be installed along a high voltage power line, with the pylons and overhead cables directly above the bore path.
The Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool provided a solution for drilling in these challenging conditions. The GST does not require surface access, so drilling across a swamp is no issue. The GST provides real-time and highly accurate positional measurements and is not affected by sources of interference such as the nearby power lines.
Radar for intersects
Because this crossing was very long, it was designed as an intersect. Brownline USA used the Radar add-on to ensure a smooth connection between the two bore holes. The Radar can accurately determine the distance between both drill heads, which makes it easy to plan the intersection in such a way that the design radius is maintained.
Upon activating Radar, the results showed that the two drill heads were only separated by 25 cm / 10 in horizontally and 61 cm / 2 ft vertically. Considering that one side had reached the intersect point after having drilled two-thirds of the total length, this is an excellent result that shows the accuracy of the Drillguide GST.