Oil & Gas Drilling Platform

Project Name: Angle Energy Oil Drilling Platform

Project Location: Olds Area, Alberta, Canada

GEOWEB® Aggregate Confinement System Creates Low-Cost, Low-Maintenance, and Stable Oil Drilling Pads.

THE PROBLEM

Unconfined, extremely wet, soft soils are susceptible to deep rutting after only a single pass by a loaded oil tanker.

BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGE

Year-round access was required at a Northern Canada oil site for equipment to service and maintain a conventional well site pad. Several new wells were to be drilled on this same pad, and since this location was not tied into a pipeline, continual heavy tanker truck traffic would need to access the site.

Due to very weak soil conditions, large ruts were continually being formed from the heavy vehicles. The challenge was to provide a solution that was less expensive than “Rig or Swamp Matting”, and that could be installed during winter construction season and left in place for the life of the lease.

GEOWEB SOLUTION

The GEOWEB 3D Soil Stabilization System and Mirafi’s HP270 high strength geotextile were chosen for this project as they provided the most cost-effective solution considering the project parameters—wet, low-strength soils, numerous passes from heavy vehicles, budget, and time constraints.

FAST, EASY INSTALLATION

Installation was completed in less than one day. The owner had provided a small crew of six to assemble and deploy this project. After an initial ‘tool box’ meeting and installation training, the 8,400 m² pad (70m x 120m) was installed at 9:00 am and finished before 2:00 pm.

Watch installation video >>

PERFORMANCE RESULTS

The bearing capacity of the thin 200mm lift of gravel was substantially improved using the GEOWEB material and the Mirafi HP270 high strength textile for separation and reinforcement. Through the effects of confinement, the system creates an additional 150 Kpa of cohesion to supplied granular material, creating a stable platform that withstands heavy truck traffic and resists rutting.