The hardest HDD drilling in Poland has been completed

Photo of the article 1022 meters – this is the length of the toughest drilling done in HDD technology in Poland. This is how GAZ-SYSTEM tackled one of the biggest challenges over the course of construction of the Lwówek-Odolanów gas pipeline.
The directional drilling using HDD method, carried out under the Wonieść Canal, on the route of the Lwówek-Odolanów gas pipeline, was done by the Dutch company A.HAK.
It consisted of two parallel drill holes provided for the installation of:
  • the gas pipeline with the diameter of 1000 mm (DN1000),
  • the steel tube with the diameter of 200 mm (DN200), sheltering optical fiber cables. 

On September 15, 2017, the DN200 tube had been installed as a first. It was followed by the drilling hole with the diameter of 1350 mm, located right next to it. On November 12, the hole was filled with the DN1000 gas pipe. The process of placing the gas pipelined down in the hole took ca. 12 hours and required an involvement of 50 persons.   
The HDD (Horizontal Directional Drilling) technology allows significant shortening of the gas pipeline route through bypassing soil obstacles. The horizontal drilling technique is currently applied quite frequently due to its pro-ecological profile.  
In addition, in September 2017 GAZ-SYSTEM commenced drilling works for the DN700 gas pipe, under the bed of San river, on the route of Hermanowice-Strachocina gas pipeline. Presently, the hole is being extended to reach the diameter of 1066 mm and the section of 200 meters, out of scheduled 979, has already been completed. In this particular case, the main difficulty, except for the length, is the fact that the hole is drilled in the rock. The gas pipeline is planned t be laid down in the drilling hole this December.      
A new 168-kilometer Lwówek-Odolanów gas pipeline is established within Wielkopolskie and Dolnośląskie Provinces. It is going to be a crucial part of an international North-South Gas Corridor. 
The construction of Lwówek-Odolanów gas pipeline is co-financed with the EU funds, from the Infrastructure and Environment Program 2014-2020. 
* the difficulty of HDD drilling is measured with the HDI index – that has been elaborated by ROE and is defined as a a product of the diameter of the pipe, given in inches, and the length of the drilling hole, given in meters.
In the event of the drilling works carried out under the Wonieść Canal, HDI indicator amounted to 40880 (recognized as extremely difficult). This is the hardest HDD drilling conducted in Poland by far. The previous one, considered the most difficult, was 1300 m long and performed at the crossing of Vistula River back in 2013, throughout construction works on the   DN 700 Rembelszczyzna-Gustorzyn gas pipeline (HDI 36400).
This year GAZ-SYSTEM has also carried out two HDD drillings, over building activities at the DN 1000 Czeszów-Kiełczów gas pipeline, with the lengths of 540 and 687 m (HDI 21600 and 27480).