Brotherton Pipeline & Direct Horzintal Form Partnership

In March 2010, two names in horizontal directional drilling teamed to better service the North American HDD market. Brotherton Pipeline Inc. and Direct Horizontal combined both equipment and workforce together, making Brotherton-Direct.

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

At the time of this announcement, Brotherton-Direct was drilling a 5,300-ft intersect on HWY 99E in Hubbard, Oregon, the first job for the Brotherton-Direct team. The project consisted of a 9 7/8-in. pilot hole that was to be drilled at a constant depth of 18 ft, paralleling two natural 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 two 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 (1 mile) and then pull the completed 12 in. gas line through without incident.

“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,” says Jim Brotherton, President and founder of Brotherton Pipelines and President of Brotherton-Direct.

Brotherton Pipeline is a family business with more than three decades of providing excellent service throughout the western United States. The company has its roots in Sage Pipeline, which was formed in Gold Hill, Ore., in 1965 by Warren Brotherton. His son Jim created Brotherton Pipeline Inc. in 1984. The company has 29 years of experience in HDD, jack-and-bore projects and auger casing bores.

Direct Horizontal established in 2000 has more than 250 years combined experience in successful subsurface product installation over various lengths and sizes. Direct’s early days were spent in the Rocky Mountain Basin, an area known to be one of the toughest drilling environments in the world. Direct was the first contractor to introduce and implement annular pressure monitoring and modeling. The company also introduced an oilfield downhole mud motor for hard formation drilling. Direct is always at the top of the industry with introducing new technologies to better serve its clients. In January 2010, Direct introduced a new style of hole opener called the TerraMAX PDC.