Posts In: Trenchless Technology

The directors of Vortex Pipes Limited discuss their exciting new developments in the world of cured-in-place pipe rehabilitation, and their plans for expansion into the US market.

Carrying out 26 horizontal directional drilling bores under the Condamine River, Queensland, including for the Australia Pacific LNG Project, has been an exceptional feat for subcontractor Pipeline Drillers Group.

After taking his innovations from Australia to an international platform, founder of trenchless company Edge Underground and creator of the Vermeer AXIS Guided Boring system Stuart Harrison has come back to the land Down Under. Originally speaking to Great Southern Press publication Trenchless Australasia, Mr Harrison speaks about his passion for innovation, what his experience in the trenchless industry has taught him and what he sees for the future of trenchless technology.

Originally speaking with Great Southern Press publication Trenchless Australasia, with Yarra Valley Water Project Manager David Fox discusses the utility’s $A2.7 million project to replace a 100-year-old sewer siphon that crosses underneath Melbourne’s Yarra River in Abbotsford by using horizontal directional drilling.

In September 2013, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre will play host to international trenchless event, No Dig-Down Under. The whole of industry event will provide over 1,000 delegates from around the world with insights into innovative and new trenchless techniques. This forum will provide the tools necessary to position trenchless professionals at the forefront of the industry.

In mid-2011 Coe Drilling was awarded the horizontal directional drilling crossing contract on the Curtis Island Water and Trade Waste Infrastructure Project, which involved the first use of horizontal directional drilling intersect technology in Australia. In September 2013, Coe Drilling was recognised for its work on the project at the Australasian Society of Trenchless Technology International No-Dig Down Under 2013 event, where it won the Project of the Year 2013 Award and the New Technology Award.

In 2011 Dunstans Construction Group, in conjunction with the Barwon Water Alliance, completed two horizontally directionally drilled crossings in the environmentally fragile Otway Ranges in order to replace multiple sections of the deteriorating Colac Pipeline.

Over the last few decades, more projects have been using the horizontal directional drilling method to install pipelines and utilities. There are a number of performance benefits from utilising state-of-the-art equipment for trenchless drilling by minimising environmental disturbance and the construction footprint in all types of ground formations, from river crossings to inaccessible and sensitive ecological environments. It also provides significant savings to bottom line construction costs.

UEA Trenchless was contracted by Trility for the final horizontal directional drilling component of the new desalination plant being constructed for the townships of Agnes Waters and 1770 in Queensland. The scope required the installation of a 610 m section of 630 mm PE100 PN16 pipe for a raw sea water intake.

Techdrill Civil Services has invested into the HDD Maxi-Rig market with the purchase of a Herrenknecht 250 rig and extended its services in the smaller HDD market with the purchase of a Vermeer D60x90.

WDS Limited has recently been contracted by APA Group to loop approximately 6 km of the existing Roma to Brisbane Gas Pipeline, which was originally constructed in the 1960s.

The Treasure Island Project in Russia, which used horizontal directional drilling to install an oil transport pipeline under the Kama River, mimicked many aspects of the Robert Stevenson story of the same name. It involved an island and oil, the modern world’s treasure, and daring adventures were had by the drilling crew.

Multi-disciplinary trenchless technology contractor Tunnelcorp has taken a leap ahead in the trenchless marketplace, achieving full third-party “˜Quality, Safety and Environmental’ ISO accreditation as well as receiving a number of orders for its services.

Trenchless technology offers an alternative to the traditional open-cut method of pipeline installation when it is not possible or ideal. Here, The Australian Pipeliner speaks with a number of leading trenchless service providers to find out more about trenchless tunnelling methods – specifically microtunnelling and pipe jacking.

Multidisciplinary trenchless technology contractor Tunnelcorp has been leading specialist teams, utilising world-class equipment and employing some of the most knowledgeable trenchless technology staff in Australia since 2006.

In 2007-08, a pioneering horizontal directional drilling project commenced using trenchless technology on the Berri Causeway and Abu Ali Island on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia.

Trenchless technology can offer a more sustainable solution to the installation of pipelines and other infrastructure when faced with road and rail crossings, environmentally sensitive areas, and construction in urban areas. The Australian Pipeliner looks at some of the benefits of using trenchless methods.

Herrenknecht has developed a new trenchless method that may improve the speed and efficiency of trenchless pipeline installation. This article examines the technique behind the “Direct Pipe”method and looks at some of the projects in which it has been successfully implemented.

Zinfra, a leading infrastructure services provider, received a Letter of Award on 30 October 2013 advising of its success in securing the large Portsea Package A, which is part of the South East Water Peninsula Early Connection Option Sewerage Reticulation Project.

In 1978 Peter Pullan visited Queensland from his hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, for a holiday. Pleasantly surprised by the lack of wind and rain, Mr Pullan decided that he would stay a while longer and has lived in Australia ever since. The Australian Pipeliner recently spoke with Mr Pullan about his 25-year career as the Managing Director of Vermeer, which has grown from a staff of just seven people to more than 80 employees at present day; is one of the pioneers of horizontal drilling equipment in Australia and is currently contracted on a vast majority of pipeline projects across the nation.

Toro Australia will enter the Australian horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine market in early 2014 with a line of machines and accompanying service support.

Taking place from 1-4 September 2013 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, International No-Dig Down Under is the only conference and exhibition dedicated to advancing the science of no-dig techniques and encouraging the installation of critical infrastructure without using trenches.

Stockton Drilling Services is providing a benchmark in Australia through its involvement in innovative projects, including the first pipeline shore approaches to be installed by thrusting alone in Western Australia; the first horizontal directional drilling under a live operating gas processing plant in Victoria; and the country’s largest large diameter crossings in Queensland.

In Australia, the largest capital works project, which was undertaken by Queensland’s water authority has reached a major milestone with the delivery of over 3 km of 1.5 m jacking pipe.

The Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology and International Society for Trenchless Technology are collectively bringing the biggest international event on no-dig technology to Australia – International No-Dig Down Under, which will run from 1-4 September 2013 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Quanta Services, owner of North America’s largest pipeline construction contractor Price Gregory International and worldwide horizontal directional drilling and pipeline integrity contractor Mears Group, has signed Australian pipeline industry executive Mark Twycross as President of Mears Group Australia to expand existing operations and create new opportunities in the Australian market.