Northern Alberta Oil & Gas Well-Pads and Pipeline Corridors

SolidEarth served as the geotechnical consultant for several northern oil and gas facilities during the planning, design, and construction phases of plant expansions, well-pads, pipeline corridors, and access roads. SolidEarth completed geotechnical investigations and materials testing for these projects.

The main challenges encountered during the construction phase was the presence of low-lying muskeg areas and areas with very weak and wet soils along the alignments and pad footprints. SolidEarth provided recommendations for optimization construction and reducing earthworks in these areas by staged muskeg consolidation and strengthening.

The geotechnical investigations generally addressed: subsurface soil and groundwater conditions, site development considerations, liners and containment berms requirements, and recommendations for deep foundations.

Construction support consisted of: settlement monitoring and strength gain during staged construction over muskeg; compaction testing during fill placement; proof-rolls and subgrade improvements; and foundations installation monitoring, PDA testing, and pile installation data analysis.