Underground Construction - June 2021 - 28

22nd Annual Directional Drilling Survey
When the continued build-out of 5G
cell networks are considered, contractors
are almost overwhelmed. And of course,
the most popular and effective way to
install fiber conduit remains HDD. It ever
a technology was perfectly matched with a
market need, that's surely the case for HDD
and fiber optic installation. " No doubt, it's
a great market, " stressed a contractor from
the Southwest.
The stick
When oil prices went tumbling down into
negative territory on April 20, 2020, there
was actual exaltation by radical environmental
groups. While the price has since reRig
size (% of market)
2017
10
20
30
40
50
60
5.0
3.3 3.1 3.0 1.9
Jumbo
(more than 300,000
pounds/pullback)
Age of HDD Fleet
50
2016
40
36.8
33.0
31.0
30
25.0 26.0
20
14.3
12.8
10
13.2
13.7 13.9
25.8 25.9
23.2
26.2 26.2
25.9 24.8
34.6
34.6 35.4
2017
2018 2019 2020
2018
2019
2020
2021
Estimated
51.9
55.3 54.2 54.054.8
bounded strongly, the scare did give oil and
gas firms pause in terms of pushing forward
development plans. That was reinforced
when perceived anti-oil candidate Joe Biden
defeated pro-business/pipelines/oil and gas
incumbent Donald Trump for president.
The Biden administration's antipathy
to the traditional oil and gas industry was
well established both before and during his
campaign. Biden's actions appear to support
the latest strategy for bringing that industry
to its knees by cutting of transportation
options via pipelines. Indeed, on his first
day in office, President Biden nixed the
Keystone Express Pipeline and has since
supported efforts by environmental groups
to delay or outright block other major
interstate pipeline projects.
All these developments have created an
all-out war on interstate pipeline construction
and, thus, many large HDD projects
affiliated with these projects have been
delayed or cancelled. Large-rig HDD contractors
have been struggling to find other
projects. Fortunately, smaller intrastate
projects have been pushed forward by many
companies, as they require less regulatory
burdens (depending upon the state) and
tend to encounter less public resistance.
Interestingly, in a move to create " green "
energy and minimize reliance on the oil
and gas industry, many energy companies
are investing heavily in the development
of hydrogen as a possible replacement fuel
for power generation. Of course, liquid
hydrogen would still require substantial
pipeline infrastructure work, so it remains
to be seen how that will be received by
environmentalists.
Large rig drillers have also been exploring
other markets. Said this Southwest contrac30.6
29.1 30.2 30.8
32.5
tor, " We had done a couple of water projects
and have been pursuing more of those. It
seems that is becoming more popular with
directional drilling. "
12.5 12.3 12.5 12.2 10.8
Stumbling block
Large
(100-300,000
pounds/pullback)
Mid
(40,000-100,000
pounds/pullback)
Mini
(under 40,000
pounds/pullback)
As telecommunication contractors scramble
to keep up with demand, two areas emerge
as major inhibitors to growth.
Workforce has been an issue for all
underground infrastructure markets for
10 years or greater
5-10 years
28 JUNE 2021 | UCONonline.com
2-5 years
< 2 years
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Underground Construction - June 2021

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