servicesHDD

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

ECI provides the horizontal directional drilling equipment and personnel necessary to construct an underground bore hole into which their customer's product line is "pulled" underneath the river, roadway or other obstruction. The product line is then connected on either end, providing for conveyance of the customer's product.

Equipment necessary for the completion of the directional crossing can include:

• Drilling rig
• Hydraulically driven downhole mud motors and jetting assemblies powered by high pressure pumps
• Drill pipe, casing, bits, reamers, hole openers
• Surface locators and electromagnetic steering tools, for proper location and guidance of the drill path
• Support equipment for preparation of the drill site and drilling operation
• Drilling mud solids control/cleaning system

A directional crossing crew consists of:

• Drilling superintendent
• Driller
• Surveyor
• Drilling mud technician
• Mechanic
• Two to four floor technicians

The work schedule is typically a single twelve hour shift. Occasionally, a project may demand a 24 hour/day operation.

The operation proceeds as follows:

• Rig set up.
• Drilling of "pilot hole" utilizing surface locators or downhole electromagnetic steering tools for staying on the intended drill path.
• Once the pilot hole is "punched out" and the bore location is confirmed, the bore can be reamed to a size adequate for the installation of the product line.
• The product line, which has been mounted on rollers, or reels, is pulled into the bore hole, and attached at either end.
• Rig down and site clean up.

A directional drilling project can range in size from a 300' installation underneath a roadway, to a 6,000' installation underneath a river or other obstruction depending upon circumstances.

ECI maintains extensive in-house computer systems for preliminary job designs, proposals, modeling, multicolor plotter drawings, and completed facility drawings for client's permanent records. Upon request, ECI provided clients with an AutoCAD "As-Built" of the final drawing for integration into your digital formats.

Horizontal directional drilling provides several advantages over the normal trenching and excavating methods.

• Significantly reduced time on site.
• Limited area of construction.
• Permits readily attainable.
• Ecosystem impact significantly reduced.
• Land or Marine traffic uninterrupted.
• Crossings completed in restricted, congested areas.
• Maintenance costs nearly eliminated.