Breakthroughs achieved in Russian oil pipeline and metro projects
11 September 2012Two TBMs achieved project breakthroughs last month in Russia. The Cat TBMs are for Mostovik's oil project pipeline tunnel in Novorossiysk by the Black Sea, and the second one is a metro tunnel in the Siberian city of Omsk, Caterpillar Tunnelling announced.
The 3.86m Cat EPB-TBM was to bore a 3.224km oil transmission pipeline tunnel from Grushevaya oil depot to Sheskharis oil depot. The TBM was launched in February 2011, advanced through 400m of overburden on Mount Markhotskiy Ridge and achieved the hole-through on 1 August 2012.
In Omsk, a 6.5m Cat EPB-TBM was used to mine a metro tunnel with total length of 1.56km. Mostovik inaugurated the TBM launch in June 2011, and the machine took a bit less than 14 months to breakthrough on 6 August 2012. The Omsk metro is expected to be in operation by 2016.
