PROJECTS | AMERICAS
Above left: Construction of the underground vault in the parking lot of Driftwood Beach State Park used to transition the offshore conduits to onshore
Above right: Now completed, the onshore/offshore connection is inconspicuous at the parking lot
Additionally, mudstone’s fine particle size can mimic the behaviour of traditional drilling fluid, creating a thick, unworkable substance. To address challenges associated with the drill
locking, the project team lab tested the mudstone’s composition from samples taken in onshore explorations. This enabled the team to formulate a specific type of fluid that reduced the risk of the drill bit getting stuck. The drilling fluid was engineered with dual objectives
in mind. Firstly, it aimed to minimize the ‘stickiness’ of the clay and alleviate some of its reactive characteristics. However, many additives that address these issues often diminish the suspension properties within the drilling fluid, thereby hindering its ability to effectively transport solids and cuttings from the bore. To address this, additional adjustments were made to the formula to uphold adequate suspension capabilities without compromising the primary purpose of the fluid. The potential presence of basalt also required careful
preparation, with the studies indicating that the team could encounter basalt in dikes and sills 30ft or more in thickness. Basalt can affect the rate of drilling, as well as have strong magnetic signatures, potentially disrupting the drill’s magnetic steering and sending drilling activity off course. To ensure that basalt-related magnetic structures
did not pose a risk to the project, the team deployed a gyroscope. Gyro steering does not rely on the earth’s magnetic field, but utilizes accelerometers, which allow the drill’s position to be calculated as it is advanced. The steering method also eliminates the need for
deploying a coil wire grid into the ocean, which would be required to maintain drill alignment without a gyroscope and would pose significant challenges along the volatile Oregon coastline. Securing and maintaining a coil wire grid in such conditions would be inherently difficult. Moreover, it would entail further encroachment into the marine environment, thereby undermining the low impact benefits that HDD methodology offers. With gyro steering, the team were able to
successfully guide the offshore bores to within 40ft of their planned exit, around a mile from the drill rig.
A FIGHT AGAINST TIME Time constraints added another layer of complexity to the project. The federal permitting for the project took almost a
decade to issue the relevant construction permits due to the unique nature of the project. Under normal circumstances, the design phase of
such a project could have taken at least a year. However, to help meet the operational goals of the project, an abbreviated design schedule was developed that allowed the team to complete the design in just five months. Instead of adhering to pre-determined design
milestone phases at 30%, 60%, 90% and 100%, the project team of Jacobs, OSU and The HDD Company worked continuously and collaboratively, solving problems as they arose. The state park also granted OSU permission to
be onsite for only one year, limiting the time for construction. The HDD Company was able meet this aggressive
time limit for HDD construction through the strategic utilization of two rigs simultaneously, an uncommon approach given the large size of the drill rigs required for HDD bores of this size and length. By carefully timing the HDD punchouts into the ocean to be concurrent, the project minimized the need for multiple construction dives per punchout, a crucial adaptation considering the unpredictable nature of weather windows in the area. Additionally, all custom equipment, including pipe
tong equipment, was engineered for maximum mobility, enabling rapid movement between HDD bores. The PacWave South project is a testament to the
power of innovation, collaboration, and determination. The team was able to successfully navigate a multitude of challenges, delivering the project on schedule and within budget. On completion, the PacWave project will mark a
significant milestone for wave energy generation in the US.
Our hope is that this project can help unlock new
forms of clean energy, contribute to energy transition and, ultimately, the journey to net-zero.
Summer 2024 | 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69
