Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and its Pacific Gas Transmission Co. subsidiary have started construction for a $1.5 billion, 844 mile, pipeline expansion project.
The project, approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and California Public Utilities Commission, includes installation of loops on PGT-PG&E's line from Canada to California (OGJ, June 24, 1991, p. 29).
Last month Cherrington Corp., Sacramento, Calif., began drilling on the Dutch Slough crossing, with San Joaquin and Sacramento river crossings to follow. Each crossing will take 4-5 months to complete.
Cherrington is subcontractor to Bechtel Corp., the expansion's engineering and construction manager.
The river crossings have been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California State Lands Commission, California Reclamation Board, and Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Cherrington is using horizontal drilling for water crossings. A pilot borehole is drilled directionally to 60 ft beneath the river bottom, then the borehole is enlarged. The 42 in. pipeline will be pulled through and capped until the main line project is complete, expected later this year. The three crossings will then be joined with expansion line installed across Sherman and Jersey islands.
Horizontal drilling of the delta crossings will not disrupt maritime and recreational uses of the river, said John Myrick, project manager for the expansion. "Drilling is environmentally superior to traditional open cut trenching because it avoids impacts to the waterways and to wetlands along the riverbanks," he said.
Construction of the entire project is to be complete by November 1993.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
