Saudi Aramco Thrust Boring Project Initiated.

New technique utilises IMG Composites wrap protection.

IMG Composites have recently executed a contract for Saudi Aramco, through its pipeline installation contractors, to supply a composite wrap which protects the plant applied corrosion resistant coatings on pipes used in HDD thrust boring. Such activities are carried out in areas where pipes intersect with existing obstacles, such as road crossings. The specially designed composite wrap is site applied in order to allow IMG Composites and its local partner Cape-RB Hilton to give the client’s contractor for the Horizontal Direct Drilling programme a flexible, cost effective service. The site applied wrap offers excellent protection to the existing corrosion coating during the thrustboring operation, which is often in rocky and heavily abrasive terrain, and also significantly enhances the level of corrosion resistance.

A number of potential solutions had been proposed for this project and six were the subject of extensive field trials; IMG Composites’ wrap was one of only two solutions approved for full scale application.

Thrust boring during HDD programmes is a widespread practice and IMG Composites are intending to offer this solution to a number of front line contractors to help them give clients the best possible solution for the problems that would be encountered if plant applied coatings are disturbed or broken during the HDD process. Further field trials to approve the product in micro tunnelling applications are currently underway.