GRUNDORAM hammer assisted Horizontal Directional Drilling in Saudi Arabia

Dec 28, 2011

Gulf British Drilling (GBD), based in Saudi Arabia, was contracted by Bin Quraya Company for a 68 km pipeline project of 48 inch steel pipe along the Aramco Manifa to Saphaniyah pipeline including eight road crossings that required directional drilling.

An American Auger DD8 horizontal directional drilling rig and a GRUNDORAM Taurus were used on the project. As the pipe was too big for the DD8 rig and ground conditions also were difficult to stabilize, the Taurus Grundoram was used to assist in the pipe pulling.
  
The rig was set up 40 meters back from the point of intersection (PI). The GBD crew also had to consider that there were cables present in the ground. The crew used a mixture of bentonite, soda ash and sweet water to remove the sand from the bore.
 
The pilot bore was drilled down to the PI at six meter depth and level angle, the drilled head was then thrust through the ground maintaining a horizontal line and until it reached the exit pit. The drill head was then removed and fly-cutter type reamers were attached while drill pipe was added to the rear of the reamer to ensure the crew did not lose the bore.
 
Once the crew were satisfied with the bore hole a decision to pull the product pipe was made following inspection by Aramco personnel. A seventy meter long trench was dug to allow the product pipe to be pulled straight through. As the rig pressures increased the Grundoram was attached to the rear of the pipe. Good communication between Ram and HDD operators was essential so the ramming is done at the same speed as the pull. The 60 meter product pipe took four hours to install. GBD are also doing additional ramming work in Yanbu in gravel ground conditions.
 
Further Information
 
Gulf British Drilling Co
P.O Box 155
Ras Tanura 31941
Saudi Arabia
Phone: +966 3 6673792

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