Reprinted from: July 2000 issue, pg. 45-49. Used with permission.

Augmented islands facilitate

directional drilling project
Engineering, contractor alliance creates man-made is being widened from 400 ft to an
expanded minimum 530-ft and max-
work areas for large Houston Ship Channel project imum 780-ft bottom width.

K. C. Yost, Jr., P. E., Mustang As a principal part of the project, Relocation. By itself, the channel
Engineering, Inc., Houston, Texas the 50-mi Houston Ship Channel widening and deepening project is a
(HSC) is being deepened from a 40 complex task. It is further compli-
n engineering/construction to a 45-ft depth. The shipping lane cated by 96 existing lines that must

A contractor alliance is provid-

ing operating companies with
a unique means of installing pipe
lines via directional drilling under
the 50-mi Houston Ship Channel.
The alliance is comprised of Mus-
tang Engineering, Inc.; Troy Con-
struction, Inc.; King Fisher Marine
Service, Inc.; and Laney Directional
Drilling Co. It has brought new and
traditional installation techniques to
the pipe line relocation project.
Due to depth and location speci-
fications, relocating the existing lines
cannot be cost-effectively accom-
plished by lowering in place. The
relocated lines must be replaced with
new lines by directional drilling.
However, in many cases, there is
insufficient workspace for directional
drilling operations.
To meet this challenge, the al-
liance has been augmenting exist-
ing islands in the channel. The
islands serve as platforms for direc-
tional drilling and tie-in operations.
These islands, or workpads, are
being created with a Geotube
device filled with dredged material,
spoil, or sand. This marked the
industry’s first use of this estab-
lished technology for directional
drilling operations.

Ship channel. The $500-million

Houston-Galveston navigation chan-
nel project is designed to allow today’s
deeper-draft vessels to safely access
the Port of Houston from the Gulf of
Mexico. The project is the shared
responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers and its local partner, Fig. 1. Due to the widening and deepening of the Houston Ship Channel, more than 96 pipe
the Port of Houston Authority. lines must be removed, or re-installed via directional drilling, in five basic geographic areas.

PIPE LINE & GAS INDUSTRY / JULY 2000

Fig. 2. The Houston Ship Channel project marks the pipe line con-
struction industry’s first use of a Geotube to augment existing islands
for directional drilling operations. Here, crews on a barge install the
Geotube next to Spilman Island.
be removed or relocated. The lines
range from 3 to 30-in. diameter.
Of the 96 crossings affected by
the channel project, indications
are that only 37 lines will be
removed. Primarily, only marine
construction services are required
for these lines.
Of the 59 remaining lines, the
alliance has been selected by 11
operators to perform services for
a minimum of 45 lines. While
bids and proposals are pending
on some lines, relocation work
began last summer. Final line
removal is scheduled for a May
2002 completion.
Projects. Alliance projects along
the HSC can be divided into five
geographic locations (Fig. 1):
• Galveston Bay
• Between Spilman Island and
Hog Island
• Between Alexander Island and
Mitchell Point
• Between Exxon Corridor (La-
Porte) and St. Mary’s Island
• Crystal Bay area.
At present, engineering is under-
way for the relocation of one natural
gas line in Galveston Bay. Engineer-
ing design, permitting, procurement,
and contractor selection are sched-
uled for this year.
Relocation and construction work
is underway between Spilman Island
and Hog Island. Here, one line is
being removed and 12 others are
being relocated. Line diameters
range from 8 to 30 in. Site prepara-
tion presented a unique challenge.
Available work area on Spilman
Island was too confined for the direc-
Fig. 3. Push-ditch methodology, similar to that used for offshore
pipelay operations, was employed on the Hog Island/Tabbs
Bay job. The procedure provided considerable cost savings,
especially at locations where multiple lines were installed in the
same bore hole.
tional drilling operations.
To make matters more prob-
lematic, many lines had been orig-
inally installed in bundles. This
made the option of marine tie-ins
extremely difficult, dangerous,
and cost prohibitive.
Island. As a solution, the alliance
proposed to create an augmented
island, a 10.5-acre work area to be
built between Spilman Island and
the HSC. This island extension would
be used as a directional drilling plat-
form and tie-in location.
In addition, the alliance proposed
to create appropriate ecological habi-
tats on these augmented islands,
after the pipe line relocations are
completed.
The proposal’s cost-effectiveness
appealed to the operating compa-
nies. Its environmental features
appealed to the regulatory agencies.
The fact that the enlarged island
would not obstruct channel com-
merce appealed to all parties.
Mustang completed construction
drawings, secured permits, and pro-
cured material for the project in fall
1999. The artificial island created here
would provide a model for others.
Geotubes. King Fisher, using 45-ft
circumferential Geotubes and about
83,000 cu yd of HSC spoil and barged
sand, finished creating the island
workpad in December 1999.
The Geotube is a geotextile fabric
constructed into an elliptical tube.
It is approximately 7 to 8 ft tall and
19 ft wide, with inlet ports spaced on
20-ft centers (Fig. 2). As the ports
are filled with dredged material, the
PIPE LINE & GAS INDUSTRY / JULY 2000
Geotube expands to its full dimen-
sions similar to a sausage casing.
Water from the fill material
drains through the porous fabric
membrane, leaving a solid inter-
nal core. To prevent undercutting
due to undertow or wave action,
the Geotube was set on top of a
25-ft-wide geotextile pad with
“toes” that fill any holes caused
by erosion.
This concept has been used exten-
sively along the Gulf Coast by the
Corps of Engineers to act as a break-
water, or propagate creation of arti-
ficial islands. The ship channel pro-
ject, however, marked the Geotube’s
first application for creating direc-
tional drilling workpads.
Push ditch. On Hog Island, Troy
Construction’s site preparation
included creating pipe racks and a
“push ditch” system into Tabbs Bay.
Push-ditch methodology was
employed by digging ditches, 10 ft
wide by 4 to 5 ft deep, from the Hogg
Island work area into Tabbs Bay. As
pipe was welded up, it was pushed
into the water-filled ditch, and
floated into the bay. The process is
similar to that used on an offshore
pipelay barge (Fig. 3).
The procedure is providing con-
siderable cost savings, especially at
locations where multiple lines are to
be installed in the same bore hole.
In addition to keeping the pipe
string aligned, the method elimi-
nates need for pipe rollers. It also
expedites welding, coating, and pre-
installation X-ray testing. These sta-
tions remain stationary at the work-
site as the pipe moves through them
and into the ditch.
On this job, Laney is undertaking
four directional drills for 12 new
crossings. Hole No. 1 contains two
12-in., one 10-in., and two 8-in. lines.
Hole No. 2 has one 6 and one 8-in.
line, while hole No. 3 contains a sin-
gle 30-in. line. Hole No. 4 has four 8-
in. lines. Removal of the existing
crossings is scheduled to be complete
by October 2000.
Work between Alexander Island
and Mitchell Point is in various
stages of completion. One operator
has contracted the alliance to assist
in the removal of eight lines and the
relocation and re-installation of
three other lines.
Alexander Island has enough
room for stringing, welding, and
testing the three new 10-in. cross-
ings. Entering and exiting the island
has been the only significant chal-
lenge here.
Some of the existing lines, 3
through 10 in., were bundled during
original construction. As a conse-
quence, identification, segregation,
lifting, tie-in, and lowering of the
three relocated lines would be expen-
sive and dangerous.
Adding to the hazard is the fact
that, in some areas, electric trans-
mission tower foundations are only
50 ft from the existing bundle. These
towers could be compromised by
removal of existing lines.
Based on these issues, and the
additional cost of barge operations, it
was determined that directionally
drilling the new lines from land to
land was the safest and most efficient
installation method. Drilling and tie-
in operations will take place on
Mitchell Point and Alexander Island.
Permits have been obtained for the
work, and construction is expected to
begin soon.
Mustang has been hired by
another operator to perform engi-
neering services for its two 30-in.
and one 10-in. crossings between
Alexander Island and Mitchell
Point. Engineering design, permit-
ting, procurement, and contractor
selection are scheduled for this year.
Completion is expected before Octo-
ber 2001.
Subsidence. Between the Exxon
Corridor (LaPorte) and St. Mary’s
Island, 26 lines, 6 through 16-in.,
will be replaced with 23 new lines.
Here, the lines had been bundled
during original
installation.
Knowing this, the
alliance decided
to employ direc-
tional drilling
here too. This
avoids the diffi-
cult and danger-
ous marine tie-in
procedure.
Yet in this area,
subsidence has Rig. Directional drill rig crews prepare for installation operations on
been an especially augmented island.
difficult opera-
tional challenge.
For example, some 2,000 ft of prop- drilling and tie-in operations.
erty on the channel’s western bank, The alliance suggested a plan
an area where the original lines were similar to the one implemented on
installed, is now under water. Spilman Island. King Fisher will
Also, when the original lines were use a Geotube structure and spoil
constructed across the channel, St. material from Scott Bay to
Mary’s Island was St. Mary’s Point increase St. Mary’s Island by 8.5
on Goat Island. However, St. Mary’s acres. This will provide a platform
Island is now four acres in size, for the directional drilling and tie-
bringing the same workspace prob- in operations.
lem encountered on Spilman Island. Troy Construction will set up
The island was too small to support welding stations on the Baytown
Contractor, engineering alliance offers
combined services, economies of scale
In order to facilitate the Houston Ship Channel pipe line relocation pro-
ject, four Houston, Texas/Gulf Coast-based firms formed an alliance. The
alliance is providing operators with the full range of services required for relo-
cating their lines.
Some operators have selected engineering work only, while others have
contracted for installation and construction work. Most have selected a
total turnkey package. The alliance members, and the services they are
providing on this project, are as follows:
• Mustang Engineering, Inc., is providing project management and admin-
istrative controls. It is responsible for preliminary and detail engineering
design, survey, drafting, environmental and right-of-way permitting, pro-
curement, construction inspection, and certification.
• Troy Construction, Inc., is serving as the primary contractor. It is providing
land construction services, including site preparation, pipe stringing, weld-
ing, coating, and testing. It is also providing support for other construction
activities.
• King Fisher Marine Service, Inc., is providing equipment and person-
nel for offshore services and support. This includes entry and exit to drill and
tie-in locations, marine pipe line construction, dredging, and removal of exist-
ing lines.
• Laney Directional Drilling Co. is responsible for all directional drilling.
From a financial perspective, the economies of scale the alliance offers
enable operators to realize significant savings compared to bidding each job
to individual contractors.
Overall project controls and scheduling will reduce field costs, notably mobi-
lization/demobilization expenses, site preparation, equipment, personnel, and
consumables. It also promises lower administrative costs. By one estimate,
the alliance will bring some clients a 40% overall cost savings on the ship
channel pipe line relocation work.
PIPE LINE & GAS INDUSTRY / JULY 2000
side of Scott Bay. As each line is
welded, crews will bottom tow them
out to the newly-enlarged island.
Laney will directionally drill each of
the four bore holes required to
install the new lines.
In the Crystal Bay area, one oper-
ating company has hired the alliance
to remove five crossings (two 16-in.,
one 10-in., and two 8-in. lines). These
lines will be replaced with four lines
(one 10, one 16, and two 8-in. lines).
The crossing’s right, descending
bank is on the edge of San Jacinto
State Park. To protect the park’s
integrity, entry and exit to the drill
and tie-in area will be achieved using
marine equipment.
Subsidence also has eroded the
left bank, a miniscule remainder of
Goat Island. Because Goat Island
is now a fraction of its former size,
consideration was given to creat-
ing a work-space similar to that
proposed for Spilman and St.
Mary’s islands.
However, a number of factors did
not make this a cost-effective option
Article copyright © 2000 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
at this location. Most notably,
fill/spoil amount requirements would
have been much greater than for the
other areas.
For this job, the small number of
and distance between lines further
reduced an artificial island’s cost
effectiveness. As a consequence, a
barge will be used as a work plat-
form where Goat Island used to be.
Similar to operations on St.
Mary’s Island, Troy Construction
will set up welding stations on the
Baytown side of Crystal Bay. As
each line is welded, crews will bot-
tom tow them out to the newly-
placed barge.
Laney will directionally drill the
one hole required to install the four
new lines. Tie-ins will be made inside
the park and off the barge.
Conclusion. While pipe line relo-
cation activities are in the begin-
ning phases, the alliance’s value
on this project is already evident.
One example is the push-ditch sys-
tem on Hog Island, which borrows
from the offshore pipelay technique.
Another example is the industry’s
inaugural use of a Geotube to cre-
ate an extended work area at
Spilman Island. The ultimate use
of this same technique at St. Mary’s
Island, and creation of appropri-
ate ecological habitats on these
augmented islands after reloca-
tions are completed, provides a tan-
gible benefit for both operators and
the environment. 
The author
K. C. Yost, Jr., is Mus-
tang Engineering’s pro-
ject manager on the
Houston Ship Channel
project. He has more than
24 years experience in
management, design and
construction of onshore
and offshore pipe lines, and regularly con-
ducts industry seminars on these topics. A
graduate of West Virginia University, Yost
holds an MBA from the University of Houston,
and is a registered professional engineer in 21
states. He is the incoming president of the
Houston Pipeliners’ Association.