The ability to install a conductor off the vertical – in a controlled fashion – is a tremendous advantage, particularly offshore where platforms are often designed with numerous, closely-spaced slots.

Directional driving

• reduces the chance of conductors colliding beneath the surface – which may result in the loss of platform slots altogether
• brings slots into play that might otherwise have been unusable
• provides a valuable start when drilling extended reach / horizontal wells
  

Steering a conductor using a deviated directional drive shoe, however, is far from straightforward. The skill comes in controlling the hammer in order to apply exactly the right amount of energy to the pile at various points during the drive. This is one of CIS’s specialisms and we can typically deviate conductors by up to 5 degrees over a penetration depth of 50 m.