TRENCHLESS CONSTRUCTION
Helping make critical infrastructure more resilient in the face of climate change Maxibor is an independent, Australian owned Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) design and construct company with operational bases in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Maxibor provides its HDD services across the resources, pipeline, hydrogen and renewables sectors.
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t has one of the largest HDD fleets in Australia including maxi-rigs, midi-rigs, rock rigs and smaller rigs with capacity to complete pipeline bores in length from 20 m to 3 km and with diameters from 63mm up to 1.6m. It is also the proud owner of four of the most powerful pumps in the HDD sector. Maxibor has been highlighting for several years now that the current condition of Australian infrastructure makes it all much more susceptible to impact of severe climate events in the form of wind, fire, flood, erosion, drought and inundation. Rain bombs can now be added to that list. Maxibor has also been strongly advocating use of HDD as part of the innovative solutions which will be required to facilitate the resilience of critical infrastructure assets to help protect lives and other property in the challenging times ahead. The recent extreme drought, bushfires and floods have demonstrated that the impact of climate change is upon us now. The increased frequency and severity of these events is reducing the time the community has to recover between events. Simultaneous disasters in multiple locations, as happened with the 2019-20 bushfires and the 2022 floods, stretches the ability of infrastructure asset owners and emergency services personnel and resources to respond to these events in a timely and effective manner. The other changes over the last decade have been the digitalisation of the management of critical infrastructure assets and the almost total functional dependency of the broader community on technology. In this context, installing infrastructure down under is a solution for Australia. Having telecommunications and electricity assets underground provides many obvious safety and environmental benefits, by looking at the ravages of the more extreme weather conditions it is evident that having infrastructure securely installed at depth provides for a safer community during these events. It also facilitates the recovery process as services can be more quickly restored and business and life can get back to normal within a shorter period. HDD is the ideal solution for putting these services underground. HDD can help in the water sector as well. The
Maxibor’s Vermeer D330x500 and Recycling System.
recent flood events in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales have highlighted that existing stormwater infrastructure is not designed to cope with rain bombs. Pipelines taking a more direct route to remove water from town centres such as Byron Bay can be readily installed using HDD without disturbing existing above ground assets. Over the next decade, Australia will see an increased spend on climate change mitigation actions. Early involvement in projects is where most value can be added. Whether it be concept development or early design, early-stage involvement of HDD design and delivery expertise can bring innovative ideas and ultimately better solutions to what will often be challenging infrastructure projects. Maxibor's combined HDD engineering design and contractor delivery experience at the project table will enable more informed decisions to be made and outcomes optimised. Input to early design concepts, together with informed construction methodology options and costings, all assist with the making of better early decisions by project stakeholders. Maxibor owner and CEO Rodney O’Meley says the company’s push for early cooperative involvement in projects reflects the importance it places on achieving whole of life value from its services. “If a project is well designed, its chances of successful delivery and adding longer-term value are much more likely to be optimised. Investment in disaster resilient infrastructure needs to be seen
not as an additional expense but as an opportunity to create shared value for all stakeholders,” he says. On major new projects such as Inland Rail, Snowy 2.0, gas pipelines, Western Australia and Queensland resources projects, the use of HDD to install infrastructure helps to not only better protect the infrastructure long-term but also to preserve the environment during delivery. As hydrogen hubs are built in regional areas across Australia, HDD will play an important role in the safe installation of water pipelines into the plants and the distribution of the energy back into the grid. Long (+1000 m) and larger diameter (800 mm to 1.6 m) HDD bores will be an important part of the climate change mitigation and asset resilience solutions. Bores of this size requires having the right plant available to complete the projects, with Maxibor’s Gallagher 660e, Gallagher 600, American Auger 660and Vermeer D330x500 suited. Powerful pumps are also a prerequisite for these projects as they are key to driving productivity and lowering cost. Maxibor’s two Gardner Denver PZ9 pumps with 1000HP engines and two Gardner Denver PZ8 pumps with 750 HP engines are ideal for the larger HDD projects. The use of emissions friendly electric rig spreads can be provided by Maxibor with its Gallagher HDD660e maxi-rig (The Hulk). Having a green delivery of operations is all part of the process to mitigate climate change.
For more information contact David Turner on 0499 375 511 or visit www.maxibor.com.au
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The Australian Pipeliner | May 2022
