Edmonton Mackenzie River HDD Project Event Summary

On February 11, the Young Pipeliners Association of Canada (YPAC) Edmonton Chapter kicked off their 2020 Event Calendar by hosting Philip Hestvik for a fantastic Speaker event. Philip presented an overview of the 2018 Mackenzie River HDD Project completed by Enbridge in the Northwest Territories.

The presentation highlighted the overall project lifecycle, including initiation, planning, construction and the successful in-service achievement.

Key Event Learnings:

  • Location, Location, Location: When working in remote locations, standard activities become highly complex and require detailed planning and teamwork. This includes developing scopes of work which are season specific for emergency response planning and transportation of crews and materials.
  • Technical Considerations: The technical complexity of the 2.1km Horizontal Direction Drill was supported by an extensive geotechnical program to gather required data, and technical reviews were completed to assess feasibility throughout the project.
  • Collaboration: Areas of mutual opportunity between the Project and local community were identified and implemented.

Speaker Overview:

Philip Hestvik was the Senior Development Engineer and Project Manager for the Line 21 Segment Replacement Project. Currently he is a Senior Engineer in the Enbridge Pipeline Integrity Geohazard Team developing GIS tools to visualize remote sensing imagery. Previously, he worked for BMT WBM providing consultant services in the areas of stress analysis and test and measurement of large mobile machinery to clients in the mining industry in Canada, Colombia, Chile, Senegal and Zambia. Philip has a degree in Engineering Physics, Mechanical Specialization from the University of British Columbia.

Project Overview:

The Enbridge Line 21 Segment Replacement Project replaced a segment of pipeline below the Mackenzie River using intersect horizontal directional drill technology. Through a partnership with local Indigenous communities, a joint environmental management committee was formed to focus on protecting the land and water, and support local training and employment. On September 27, 2018, the Norman Wells Pipeline was restarted successfully. Successful execution of this Project required creativity to overcome logistical challenges. The intersect drill spanned over 2100 meters. Due to the remote location and sensitive environment, equipment was barged to one of the worksites and over 14,000 wooden mats were used to construct an 11 kilometer road. The construction window was short and the intersect drill was highly technical. 

Stay up to date on the 2020 YPAC Event Calendar online at: https://www.ypacanada.com/ or by emailing the Edmonton YPAC Chapter Chair, Nancy Manchak, at nancy.manchak@ypacanada.com