Underground Construction - June 2020 - 33

a challenge, but we got through it. I've kept several pieces of the
wood to use as paper weights in my office."
Presence of the petrified wood also caused concern about the
coating on the pipe, so for added protection, a Scar-Guard wrap
was applied to the pipe before installation.
To open the pilot holes, three ream passes were made with 24-,
36-, and 48-inch reamers. A final pass was made with a 36-inch swab.

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Prep
To prepare for product installation, pipe strings were laid out and
welded on land, then pulled into the bay and staged in the water
using multiple barges.
"When it came time to pull the pipe into the drilled hole," Baker
continued, "there was not room in the bay for it to lay straight.
For the pipe to be in one section, it had to have a large horizontal curve in it. It was a challenge to hold the pipe in place while
pullback operations were in progress. Personnel on barges kept the
pipe in place and from straightening out."
WHC Energy Services provided rig support on the north side
and Tennessee Pipeline did the same on south.
Looking back, Baker said scheduling played an important part in
successfully completing the project.
"We had both drills going at the same time," Baker said, "so this
meant two marine support operations going at the same time in
close proximity to each other. We had to keep safety and communication at the forefront.
"There was no way to pull both drills at the same time, so we had
to stagger the start dates for each drill to insure we did not have
a conflict. We also did not want a large amount of time between
pulls because we knew we had to pull on both ends of the product
to lower it into the trench after the tie-in. This is why timing and
scheduling was very important."
An additional complication was Hurricane Barry being in the
Gulf at the time operations were underway.
"The storm was pulling water out of the bay, making it difficult
to float the product pipe in the shallow water," he said.
The project was completed in 90 days.
"We are pleased to have been a part of this project," Baker concluded. "Its success can be credited to the teamwork of all involved:
Nustar Energy, Hard Rock, WHC, Tennessee Pipeline, and Orion."
Baker praised the efforts of the entire Hard Rock team that included Chris Jones, vice president of business development; Tom
Forconi, maxi rig division manager; Leo Aguirre, assistant division
manager; Rig 1 Crew Leader Mario Diaz; Rig 2 Crew Leader Rafa
Gamez; and their crew members.
Based in San Antonio, Texas, Hard Rock is experienced in all
types of directional drilling and specializes in long, difficult water
crossings and intersects of large-diameter pipes. *
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Hard Rock
Tennessee Pipeline
WHC Energy Services
Vermeer
Brownlee
NOV
Tulsa Rig Iron
Scar-Guard

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For more information,
call 1 (877) 2 INROCK or visit www.inrock.com
UConOnline.com | JUNE 2020

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Underground Construction - June 2020

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