Compact Power Diversifies Capabilities, Perfect for Barge Drilling

Landing a barge drilling project, ODYSSEY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Owner and Project Manager Jason Miller knew he needed to run tooling beyond the capabilities of his fleet of three 7822DTs. The predominantly environmental and geotechnical drilling company in Pennsylvania took the opportunity to expand their fleet and services, adding a 3230DT.

“The 3230DT gives you a variety of drilling options and the ability to switch gears quickly. All the controls and drilling area are operator and helper friendly,” Miller said. “Not only can we run direct push off it, we can also run air rotary, rock core, and mud rotary.”

For the six months prior to the start of the barge project they utilized the 3230DT on various projects testing its capabilities and efficiencies.

“It’s opened up more possibilities: diversifying our coring capabilities, increasing our ability to do geotechnical work, and completing additional groundwater investigations with larger diameter rods at deeper depths,” Miller said. “It allows us to do similar work scopes, but on a larger scale with bigger tooling. It’s more efficient on certain types of drilling. The rod clamp on the head pulls tooling more efficiently.”

Other features he attributes to the 3230DT's efficiency include:

• Sliding head, aligning everything over the hole when changing tools and pulling rods.
• GH70 percussion hammer pounding power, penetrating bigger tools deeper in the ground.
• Multiple heavy-duty winches, providing pulling power.
• Adjustable control panel, creating comfortable view of tool string for operator, ample room around tooling for helper.

These features combine to increase efficiency for Odyssey Environmental Services Inc and their clients.

“It increased our efficiency by reducing field time. We are excited to improve our drilling time and implement equipment that works for us and our clients,” Miller said.

Their barge drilling project on the Anacostia River in Washington D.C. for the Department of Environment began mid-October 2022 with an extensive collaboration of companies. When running Membrane Interface Probe (MIP) investigation, 3.75 rods were installed to case off river sediments while pushing MIP through the casing to depth.

“This required adjustments on rod length to run 3230DT versus 7822DT,” Miller said.

By Christmas, they switched to setting 2-inch temporary wells and sampling with DT45, collecting cores for analysis.

“We used 6.5-inch rods with 6-inch casing shoe to set a 6-inch outer casing to case off upper overburden contamination and river sediments; then sampled to depth before setting 2-inch temporary wells for the consultant to test groundwater over tide cycles,” Miller said.

This spring they’ve been completing geotechnical borings, setting 6-inch outer casing and running 3.75 rods with geotech shoes and split spoons.

“The 3230DT allows us to use various tool strings and switch between them easily. It also enables larger tooling capabilities,” Miller said. “The 3230DT is the perfect rig for this application.”

According to Miller, the 3230DT being the perfect barge drilling rig includes:

• 80K pull back, necessary when driving into riverbed clay combined with buoyancy of the barge.
• Convenience of hose pump kit in conjunction with injection head, conducive to grouting borehole while retracting rods
• Flexibility to run variety of tooling, required to accommodate varying subsurface conditions on a daily basis.
• Capability to adjust rig using outriggers and oscillation, imperative on an often-uneven barge platform.

“The operator has versatility to adjust the drill mast to run tooling perpendicular to the surface,” Miller said.

He pairs Geoprobe^® tooling with the 3230DT because of its superior quality.

“Geoprobe^® tooling holds up. It’s superior to everything on the market. The quality control is there,” Miller said. “The different size shoes and systems make everything easy to work. The thread design reduces stress on the joint so they’re easier to thread and unthread.”

Miller credits rig capabilities and longevity of tooling to Geoprobe^® listening to field crews and investing in engineering.

“Geoprobe^® understands fieldwork, listens to the rig operators, and is constantly a step ahead of advancing technology,” Miller said. “There’s been a lot of innovation over the last 25 years.”