In June 2025, Brownline USA made an important contribution to the installation of a 42” gas line near Sulphur, Louisiana. An 1800 m / 5900 ft crossing was successfully completed thanks to the accuracy and reliability of Brownline’s steering equipment and service.
The crossing is part of the Port Arthur Pipeline, a 42” pipeline for the transportation of natural gas. The pipeline stretches for about 115 km / 72 miles through Texas and Louisiana. Near Sulphur, LA, a section of the pipeline would cross a highway, a railroad and a river. Trenchless contractor HardRock Infrastructure carried out the horizontal directional drilling needed to complete this section.
Intersect method to control fluid pressure
The crossing was designed as an intersect, with drilling commencing from both ends and meeting in the middle below ground. In HDD crossings of this length, controlling borehole pressure is crucially important to the success and safety of the project. In this case, inadvertent returns of drilling fluid under the railroad and river needed to be avoided.
The accuracy of the Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool kept both drills on their planned course until the drill heads were close to the intersect point. Independent verification using GPS track further reduced risks during a crossing of this length.
Once the intersect point was reached, the intersect was made after using Brownline’s Radar module to find the exact distances between both drill heads. Exact position measurements allowed a calculation to be made to join the boreholes smoothly without breaking radius. By avoiding doglegs in the intersect, the pullback operation can be carried out efficiently and with minimal pipe stress.
Second intersect needed after lost hole
After the intersect was made, both sides continued through the drilled hole towards the exit point. Soft ground near the exit point caused the hole to collapse only several rods away from the exit. The crews were able to pull back and intersect again, locking bits this time. Afterwards, both sides found the exit point through the 16” casing installed under Highway LA 27.
The quality of Brownline’s equipment and service was a major factor in the success of this trenchless project.
