HDD & directional drilling consulting in Dubai & the UAE

Directional drilling consulting in Dubai & the UAE

Dubai and the other emirates keep building: new districts, roads, power, water, district cooling and fibre, much of it in shared utility corridors that leave very little room for a bore to wander.

A team of consultants can review a bore profile, pressure-test production assumptions on a bid, or help on a problem bore by video. Consults are in English. We'll come to your site or work it remotely, alongside the local engineer and contractor of record.

See also HDD consulting across the Middle East.

What we can help with

The same consulting we offer everywhere, with the local conditions in mind:

Ground conditions

• Desert and dune sand. Loose, dry, clean sand that won't hold an open hole without the right drilling fluid and annular pressure control.
• Coastal sabkha. Salt flats near the coast with shallow, very salty groundwater — hard on fluids, steel and product, and soft for rig anchoring.
• Caprock. Cemented sand and limestone layers near the surface over softer ground — steering and tooling change at the transition.
• High heat. Summer heat affects fluid mixing and viscosity, equipment cooling and crew hours; summer midday outdoor-work restrictions shape the schedule.

General conditions only. Every site is different — send what you know about yours.

Permits & approvals

Approvals run through the local authorities and utility providers for each emirate, and crossings of roads, other services and corridors often need several no-objection approvals. Those stay with the owner and contractor; we help plan the bore to their requirements.

Typical crossings

• Highway and interchange crossings
• Crowded shared utility corridors
• Under existing district-cooling, power and water lines
• Coastal and creek-edge crossings
• New-development roads and plots

Time zones & remote consults

The UAE is on Gulf Standard Time, 10 hours ahead of Helena in summer and 11 in winter. Our early morning is your afternoon, and photos and video sent at the end of your day are reviewed before your next one. Video from the rig, the pit or the returns works well for troubleshooting; plans, profiles and bid documents can be reviewed between calls, with written recommendations after each session.

Units & documents

Metric (metres, millimetres, bar or kPa, L/min).

On your job site

We're glad to travel. A consultant can come to your site for planning, troubleshooting or training, working alongside the local engineer and contractor of record — scope and travel costs agreed up front. Consulting is field-experience based and doesn't replace a licensed engineer's stamped design.

Questions

Will you come to a job in Dubai?

Yes. We'll come to your site anywhere in the UAE or work it remotely by phone and video, alongside your engineer and contractor of record. Travel costs are agreed up front.

How do you handle heat and sand on a bore?

Mostly through fluid design, annular pressure, tooling and scheduling. Send the ground information and bore profile and we'll talk it through.