Brotheron Pipeline, Direct Horizontal Form Partnership

In March of 2010, two great names in HDD teamed to better service the North American HDD market. Brotherton Pipeline Inc., established in 1984, and Direct Horizontal, established in 2000, combined both equipment and workforce together making Brotherton-Direct.

Based out of  Oregon, Brotherton will be able to provide a complete one-stop service to all clients. With a rig fleet ranging from 80,000 lb rigs to 1.1 million lbs, Brotherton can be called upon for any project. Direct’s fleet will introduce the Xtreme Weather Package to the NW market allowing for full 24-hour operation in -50 ̊̊F weather. 

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At the time of this announcement, Brotherton Direct was drilling a 5,300 ft intersect in Oregon — the first job for the Brotherton Direct team. The project consisted of a 9 7/8-in. pilot that was to be drilled at a constant depth of 18 ft, paralleling two gas lines and the town’s water service.  Athough not an intersect as most people in the HDD world would envision, it was accomplished by drilling 2 pilot holes into a common exit pit, this was done with extreme accuracy to prevent any stress on the final product. After pilot completion each pilot hole (2,400 ft and 2,900 ft) was opened using a custom built reamer to 18 in. The reamer was designed by Brotherton specifically for the ground conditions encountered. Upon completion of reaming the larger of the two rigs involved, supplied by Direct, was used to trip pipe through the entirety of the hole (one mile) and then pull the completed 12-in. gasline through without incident.

Together with Direct Horizontal’s drilling department and Brotherton’s expertise in the areas of sub-surface conditions, Brotherton-Direct can maximize the efficiency and have the project completed in a matter of days. According to Jim Brotherton of Brotherton Pipeline, “This newly found partnership provides the large diameter bore experience and financial backing that I have desired for many years to take the next step in the directional drilling market,” said Jim Brotherton, president of Brotherton Pipelines and Brotherton-Direct.

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Brotherton Pipeline Inc. is a family business with more than three decades of providing excellent service throughout the West. Numerous major clients have remained loyal to the contractor over the years, testifying to its commitment to cost-conscious performance and quality personal service. Brotherton Pipeline has its roots in Sage Pipeline, which was formed in Gold Hill, Ore., in 1965 by Warren Brotherton. He established a legacy of integrity, pride in workmanship, quality and professionalism that is continued by his son, Jim Brotherton, who created Brotherton Pipeline Inc. in 1984.

Brotherton Pipeline Inc. has been qualified in the field of installation of gas transmission lines, distribution lines, plastic services, and installation of all underground utilities for over three decades. The contractor has 29 years experience in directional drilling, jack-and-bore and auger casing bores. Brotherton Pipeline is presently an active member of National Utility Contractors of America (NUCA) and Jim Brotherton is on the Board of Directors for Distribution Contractors Association (DCA).

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Direct Horizontal, established in 2000, has more than 250 years combined experience in successful subsurface product installation over various lengths and sizes. Directs’ early days were spent in the Rocky Mountain Basin, an area that is known to be one of the toughest drilling environments in the world. From this experience different drilling practices were introduced to mitigate the risk of an unsuccessful product installation.  Direct was the first contractor to introduce and implement annular pressure monitoring and modelling, it also introduced as a first running an oilfield downhole mud motor for hard formation drilling.

In January 2010 Direct introduced a new style of hole opener called the TerraMAX PDC. The hole opener has shown great success, increasing ROP to almost two times that of the conventional reamers used in the past. Direct’s custom built state of the art fleet consists of 11 rigs, ranging from 80,000 lbs to multiple Maxi 1,100,000. All rigs run a top of the line supersized fluid control system that allows for the enhanced hole cleaning and conditioning, a necessity with the new advancements in reaming and drilling techniques.  It can be found on the Web at www.directhorizontal.com and www.bplinc.com

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