In 2017 the longest horizontal directional drill ever was attempted. This drill served to install a new water pipeline between the mainland and an offshore island. The drill measured a length of 15091 ft and was drilled at a depth of 280 ft.
15091 Foot long
Previously the island Texel, lying offshore from The Netherlands, was connected to the mainland water pipeline system by means of a pipe which was embedded on the surface of the sea. The pipe was damaged a few years ago because of the lowering of an anchor and therefore needed to be fixed or replaced.
The island council decided to commission a project to install a water pipeline underground, to mitigate the risks of embedding a new pipeline. The pipeline was installed using horizontal directional drilling.
The length (~ 15091 ft) of the envisaged drill had to date not been attempted before using this technique. Brownline was asked to provide steering services to the drilling contractor for this project. Our Gyro steering tools were used along with our Radar Intersect modules to drill the pilot drills. Two rigs, one starting at the entry point, one starting at the exit point, drilled towards each other under the channel. Our Radar system aligned the drill heads in the middle and enabled a smooth transition between the two bore holes.
Through our people and our tools, this project could be attempted and was successfully completed.