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HDD Crossings

Earth Fluids has successfully participated in river crossing projects under the Liard, Mackenzie, North Saskatchewan, KettleTeida, Pembina and Illecillewaet rivers using an organic bio-viscosfier mud system "Crossing Guard" that biodegrades after use. These crossings were from 350m to 1600m in length. Five of the crossings had previously been unsuccessfully attempted with other systems. Our process includes:

  • Environmental pre-planning consists of toxicity testing for the proposed mud system.

    • For horizontal drilling under bodies of water, extensive rainbow trout bio-assay testing, microtox testing and biodegradability testing has confirmed the low toxicity of our HDD fluid. ​​

  • Rheological fluids analysis and comparisons are done in our laboratory to ensure fluids  meet the clients' requirements. We design our systems for reduced circulating pressures to help avoid "frac-outs".

  • Disposal consists of stripping the liquids back to a clear liquid for pump-off or settling in a sump for pump-off.  Typical pump-off fluid electrical conductivity is below 5 dS/m.  Clarified fluid can be seen in the video below and images to the right.  Solids are mixed, buried and covered or hauled to landfill. 

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