Safe drilling for Amsterdam's district heating

The city of Amsterdam is working towards a future without the use of natural gas. The goal is to be completely independent of natural gas by 2040. A major part of this is finding other resources to supply the city’s district heating. For this particular project, Brownline has recently surveyed two parallel drill jobs with the Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool in combination with the UXOscope.

The aim of the South Connection Project is to connect two existing district heating networks with a 3.8-kilometer (2.36 mile) long pipeline. These two networks are both powered with residual heat from a power plant and a waste treatment plant. Connecting these two networks will enable the residual heat to be distributed throughout the entire city. By 2040, approximately 290,000 households will have access to this natural gas-free form of heating for their homes.

The trajectory of this pipeline runs straight under the west and south parts of city and crosses, amongst other things, the River Amstel. This particular part of the city has also suffered heavily from bombardments during World War II, which means that there is a major risk for remaining unexploded ordnance in the earth. Both factors could cause major inconvenience to the city’s inhabitants, as well as a significant increase in project duration. Especially when keeping the risks in mind, the choice for the UXOscope was made quickly.

Brownline surveyed two parallel drills of 180 meters (590 ft.) each, for which the UXOscope was used on a smaller type drill rig for the very first time. By choosing for the combination of the Drillguide GST and UXOscope, these drills were completed safely, successfully and within the set timeframe!

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