In January 2023, Brownline USA was involved in a very impressive HDD project in the Galveston area. A land-to-barge intersect drilling was completed with exceptional accuracy thanks to Brownline’s tools.
As part of a large pipeline project, many miles of 24-inch pipeline are being constructed in the Galveston Bay area. This project includes over 50 HDD crossings, and Brownline’s Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool will be used for guidance on some of the more complex crossings.
Land-to-barge intersect
In January, the pilot drill was completed for one of the most spectacular of these drillings: A 2,600 m / 8,700 ft outfall intersect, drilled from land near Texas City and from a barge in Galveston Bay. Contractor HardRock Infrastructure brought in Brownline USA as guidance specialists.
This crossing had very tight horizontal and vertical margins and two horizontal curves totaling 46°. The on-land portion of this drilling took place alongside overhead power lines and a busy interstate (I-45). In addition, two railroad tracks had to be crossed.
Continuous position monitoring
The soft sand and clay layers required constant monitoring of the drill head’s position to ensure it would not deviate from the designed bore path. The GPS track add-on was used for additional verifications from the surface above the drill trajectory.
In spite of the challenging conditions, the two boreholes intersected head-on! This success demonstrates the extreme accuracy of Brownline’s tools. One of the drill heads had travelled over 1,500 m / 5,000 ft before reaching the intersect point. And even then, the drill head was kept right on target!
Brownline is proud to have contributed to this project.
View the gallery below for several photos taken on the barge.
