KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL HORIZONTAL REMEDIATION WELLS

Overview

Environmental remediation professionals around the country (and internationally) are rapidly learning that Horizontal Remediation Systems are an important “tool in their remediation toolbox”.  When designed and executed by experienced horizontal environmental drilling experts, Horizontal Remediation Systems can be extremely effective at achieving rapid site closure compared to vertical remediation systems. 

So, what elements are critical to successful Horizontal Remediation Systems?

Zone of Influence Calculations for Proper Bore Path Design

Horizontal Remediation Wells typically have a significantly greater zone of influence than vertical remediation wells.  It is therefore critical to design the bore path to maximize this zone-of-influence advantage.  The potential rewards?  Fewer wells, lower system installation costs and lower life cycle costs owing to more rapid site closure. 

Engineered Well Screens

Installing a horizontal remediation well involves a lot more than advancing a horizontal bore and inserting a length of perforated PVC pipe.  It is critical that each well screen be designed according to site-specific conditions and well functional requirements.  Perhaps the most important screen design element is to ensure that uniform flow is achieved over the well screen length, which can easily be hundreds of feet long in many cases.  Directional Technologies has developed and successfully uses a proprietary well screen design methodology.  The companies PhD Hydrogeologist developed this methodology over the course of years and have field-proven its efficacy. 

Directional Driller’s Environmental Drilling Experience

It is critical to engage a directional drilling contractor with significant environmental drilling experience.  Horizontal directional drilling is a horizontal mud rotary drilling technique.  It is extremely important to design a site-specific drilling mud program that avoids formation damage.  Directional drilling contractors who specialize in utility bores (to pull fiber optic cables, for example) are not concerned about formation damage – they advance the bore, pull the cable and then go home.  Horizontal Remediation Wells need to effectively communicate with the formation and that requires selecting (and sometimes modifying) the mud program and using effective well development techniques.

Directional Technologies has extensive experience designing mud programs, working closely with mud vendor product technical experts. For more information on drilling muds for horizontal wells, see the article THE “STRAIGHT SKINNY” ON BENTONITE-BASED DRILLING MUDS AND THEIR STANDARD PRACTICE USE IN THE HORIZONTAL REMEDIATION WELL INDUSTRY under the Presentation/Article section.

 In addition, well development is both an art and science.  The company has honed the horizontal well development process over the past 27 years to ensure maximum efficiency from the horizontal remediation well system.

Please give us a call to further discuss the key elements of successful horizontal remediation systems and your potential horizontal remediation well project.