TDI-Brooks completed the Phase II core acquisition for their Mardi Gras Transportation System (MGTS) contract. The MGTS comprises two separate pipeline systems. The Proteus oil pipeline and the Okeanos gas gathering system in the eastern flank of the Mississippi Fan. The Caesar oil pipeline and Cleopatra gas gathering system are located south of the fan, running from the continental rise below the Sigsbee Escarpment to the continental slope. TDI-Brooks’ component of the project involves: (1) establishing seabed and shallow sub seabed geotechnical and geological parameters, and (2) providing soil parameter measurements for seabed roughness analysis and mud mat supported structures.
The Phase II geotechnical core acquisition was undertaken using the company’s research vessel, the R/V JW POWELL. The R/V JW POWELL is a 147-ft multi-use oceanographic research vessel outfitted specifically for deep water piston coring. Forty-nine (49) 20-ft, 2000-lb piston cores were acquired to bring the total number of cores acquired by TDI-Brooks for the Mardi Gras Transportation System project to about 150 cores. Additionally, nine (9) 4,500-lb, 4-inch, 40-ft Jumbo Piston Cores were acquired for deeper geotechnical information. Large 50-cm x 50-cm box cores were acquired at selected sites for detailed mudline studies. The routine geotechnical measurements for Phase II of the project are being conducted by TDI-Brooks’ geotechnical laboratory in College Station. TDI-Brooks is subcontracting the engineering analysis component of the programs to Geoscience, Earth & Marine Services, Inc (GEMS) in Houston.
Additional details on the R/V JW POWELL or TDI-Brooks Int’l Inc. can be found at www.tdi-bi.com or by contacting Dr. James M. Brooks at < Drjmbrooks@aol.com>.
