Jafurah Field Deveopment Export Pipelines

Execution & Technical Scope

As part of the Jafurah Field Development Project, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) awarded the 36" Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) crossing works to Trenchless Engineering Services Co. Ltd., 36" diameter condensate pipeline and associated facilities from Jafurah Gas Plant to Ras Tanura, via the UBTG-1 KM-101 fenced area facility near Abqaiq. The scope comprises 10 HDD crossings, ranging in length from 305 m to 370 m, all executed beneath major highways and pipeline corridors across the region, including King Fahd Airport Road and the Dhahran-Jubail Highway, allowing uninterrupted traffic flow and preserving the integrity of the road structures above. Each crossing carries a 36" steel pipeline with a wall thickness of 9.53 mm, installed alongside 2 nos. 4" HDPE ducts for fibre optic cable (FOC), laid in parallel with the main line; given this wall thickness, anti-buoyancy measures were implemented to counter the pipe's buoyant forces and ensure it remained safely and accurately positioned along the designed bore profile during installation. The geotechnical strata along the crossings comprise sabkha sand and limestone rock, requiring careful drilling fluid management, tooling suited to the transition between soft and hard formations, and close control of the bore path to protect the pipe during reaming and pullback.