Overview

Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is a fast and cost effective technology to install product pipelines underneath obstacles such as river and road crossings, etc.

HDD rigs were initially developed in USA in 1970s for hydrocarbon pipeline installations underneath rivers. Since then, they have been used extensively to install a wide range of utilities, conduits and pipelines under highways, water bodies and environmentally sensitive areas. This has been made possible by the time and cost effectiveness of this technology in almost any soil condition except loose gravel. Loose gravel provides a challenge for HDD because of difficulty in maintaining the reamed holes, which can be up to 150% of the product pipeline size. Even then, by using certain bentonite polymers, this difficulty can be overcome to a certain degree. In hard rock conditions, specialized attachments like mud motors can be used to install product pipelines.

Depending on size of crossings, HDD systems have been developed in two size ranges.

1. Mini and midi systems for small diameter and small length utility installation purpose in urban environment. Usually, the drill unit is mounted on tracks, thereby, permitting mobility and ease of use.

We were one of the earliest companies to start this segment in India in the year 1995-96 and have several mini and midi systems with pulling capacities ranging from 4 tons to 36 tons.

2. Large HDD rigs for long installations (lengths longer than 500m) and large diameter pipes (diameters greater than 400 mm). These rig spreads are humongous and transported on 10 – 15 trailers and require in depth knowledge of the use of bentonite slurry to maintain the reamed holes, for successful installations.

Today, we are one of the major companies in large HDD segment in India, having completed several long crossings in the recent years with the longest being 2014m long Ganga River crossing.

Our Services

We offer complete EPC service for your projects including –

  • Project planning – Site investigation and design calculations
  • Selection of right equipment and tooling for the job
  • String preparation of the final product line – welding, NDT, pre and post hydrotest, etc.
  • Horizontal directional drilling
  • Quality control

And all this while maintaining international safety standards and with minimal effect to surrounding environment.

Your Solutions

  • Installation of hydrocarbon pipelines across obstacles in a time and cost effective manner using magnetic guidance systems. E.g., River Crossings
  • Installation of optic fiber & electric cables in urban areas where surface disruption is not an option.
  • Installation of utilities like gravity sewers, etc. in urban areas while maintaining the correct gradient level using state of the art tracking systems. Grades less than 2% are possible using electronic multi frequency wireless tracking systems capable of pitch readings in 0.1% increments.
  • Installation of product pipelines through continuous rocky ground strata. Our company specializes in use of mud motors and rock hole openers for such cases.
  • Longer than 2000m crossings using intersect bore method and magnetic guidance systems, where pilot is done from both sides and intersected in the middle of the river.
Major

EQUIPMENT

GS 6000-T Maxi Rig
  • 600 ton pullback capacity maxi rig – Capable of >3000m long crossings
  • Separate power pack and operator cabin for ease of transportation and use
  • Ideal for intersect jobs
GD 3500A Maxi Rig
  • 350 ton pullback capacity maxi-rig – Capable of > 2000m long crossings
  • Magnetic tracking system
  • 6 5/8” drill rods
  • Mud Recycling System
Vermeer D330 X 500
  • 150 ton pullback capacity maxi-rig – Capable of > 1000m long crossings
  • Magnetic tracking system
  • 5 1/2” drill rods
  • Mud Recycling System
Vermeer D80 X 100
  • Capable of up to 500m long crossings for diameters 24” and less
  • Tracking systems with 0.1% sensitive pitch for gravity sewers
Recent

KEY PROJECTS

  • Project Ganga River Crossing – PHBPL AUG project, IOCL
  • Salient Features 18” X 2014 meters crossing in gravel and sand
  • Project Rupnarayan River Crossings – HMR and PHDPL project, IOCL
  • Salient Features 12.75” and 10” X 1520 meters crossing in gravel and clay
  • Project Kharghar Creek Crossing – MGL Project
  • Salient Features 12.75” long crossing in Hard Basalt Rock & Boulders (UCS > 250 Mpa)
  • Project Bibiyana – Dhanua 36” Gas pipeline project – GTCL, Bangladesh
  • Salient Features 36” long river crossings in sand and clay