Well Design and Build

Due to the unique installation process and significant screen footage per well, it is imperative to team up with an experienced horizontal remediation specialist to get the highest level of performance out of your horizontal wells. Directional Technologies has over 30 years of experience working with environmental consultants to design and install horizontal remediation wells at challenging sites across the country and internationally.

Horizontal remediation wells are an extremely efficient method for cleaning up contamination in the subsurface, as long as the design and build of those wells are performed correctly. Directional Technologies has been at the forefront of contaminant remediation as it applies to horizontal settings, having pioneered many of the design techniques and installation methods used to maximize remedial effectiveness on site. Working with environmental consultants, Directional Technologies takes a team approach to design efficient horizontal remediation wells, and then drills and installs the wells through the trusted hands of our specialized master drillers.  

The main difference between horizontal wells design and vertical wells (besides the obvious orientation change), is the amount of screen. On average, horizontal wells contain 10 to 100s feet of screen compared to an average of about 10 feet for most vertical remediation wells. Most vertical wells are constructed of prefabricated materials with screen slotting sizes that come off-the-shelf at standard sizes, such as 0.010” or 0.020.” This is appropriate for vertical wells since the remedial application (air flow, injection solution, etc.) only has to be dispersed across a small section of the screen.

Since horizontal wells contain so much more screen footage, the effects of these off-the-shelf materials do not translate from vertical applications to horizontal. We need to ensure that flow is evenly distributed along the entire length of the screen to maximize the remedial effectiveness of the well. To achieve maximum performance, Directional Technologies utilizes a proprietary, in-house screen-modeling software to assist with the modeling and design of the well.

Following the design phase, the Directional Technologies drilling team mobilizes to the site and performs the drilling and installation of the horizontal remediation wells. Our expert drillers are veterans when it comes to working in contaminated soil and groundwater. They are able to precisely navigate the subsurface to ensure that the well screen is being installed directly into the target zone. As a result, there is maximum contact between the screen portion of the horizontal well and the surrounding contaminated zone.

Designing horizontal well screens is a critical part of the process to ensure that the remedial application is applied to the entire target zone. Since each site is unique, Directional Technologies takes a site-specific approach to each design and build process for each horizontal well that they install.