Confirming ground conditions for industrial plant expansion
Clearer ground insight for confident expansion, in one week.
An established engineering firm commissioned our experts to investigate ground conditions at an operational nitrogen production facility in Carseland, Alberta, ahead of a proposed plant expansion.
Limited subsurface information across the development area created uncertainty around the depth and continuity of key geological layers. A clearer understanding was needed to support engineering decisions and reduce the risk of unexpected ground conditions affecting the design, cost or delivery of the expansion.
EchoVision designed and delivered a high-resolution seismic investigation around the live industrial site, providing a clearer picture of the shallow subsurface. The resulting data gave the engineering team greater confidence in the ground model needed to inform foundation design and progress the expansion with reduced uncertainty.
Project at a glance
| Survey location |
|---|
| Nutrien Plant, Carseland, Alberta, Canada |
| Customer |
| Jasa Engineering |
| Project stage |
| Construction planning ahead of expansion |
| Application |
| Geotechnical seismic site investigation |
| Environment |
| Active operating nitrogen plant facility |
| Key challenge |
| Confirming soil competence for proposed vessel pads and steel structure additions |
| Target depth |
| First 30 m for MASW, with shear-wave reflection imaging up to 100 m |
| Survey methods |
| Active MASW, passive MASW, seismic refraction and 2D shear-wave reflection seismic |
| Crew |
| Four field engineers and one geophysicist |
| Delivery timeline |
| One week from first receiver deployed to final image |
| Survey location | Nutrien Plant, Carseland, Alberta, Canada |
|---|---|
| Customer | Jasa Engineering |
| Project stage | Construction planning ahead of expansion |
| Application | Geotechnical seismic site investigation |
| Environment | Active operating nitrogen plant facility |
| Key challenge | Confirming soil competence for proposed vessel pads and steel structure additions |
| Target depth | First 30 m for MASW, with shear-wave reflection imaging up to 100 m |
| Survey methods | Active MASW, passive MASW, seismic refraction and 2D shear-wave reflection seismic |
| Crew | Four field engineers and one geophysicist |
| Delivery timeline | One week from first receiver deployed to final image |
The challenge
As part of the engineering design for new vessel foundations and structural steel additions at Nutrien’s nitrogen plant in Carseland, Alberta, Jasa Engineering needed to establish whether the proposed development area had sufficient soil competence to support the planned loads.
Two control boreholes, supported by compressive-strength testing, provided point-specific geotechnical data. However, the project team needed a non-invasive method to assess lateral variability between and beyond the boreholes, and determine whether their findings were representative of the wider foundation footprint.
Data acquisition also had to be completed within a live industrial facility. Restricted access, existing infrastructure and persistent turbine-generated vibration presented significant operational and signal-quality challenges that had to be addressed through careful survey design and execution.
The solution
EchoVision experts integrated four complementary seismic methods to increase confidence in the site’s geotechnical ground model:
- Active multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW)
- Passive MASW
- Seismic refraction
- 2D shear wave reflection seismic
This integrated approach provided complementary measurements of near-surface stiffness, velocity structure and deeper stratigraphic variability. MASW characterised the upper 30 m, while SH-wave reflection seismic extended the investigation to approximately 100 m below ground level.
The acquisition spread comprised 72 5 Hz three-component geophones for active MASW and SH-wave reflection, supplemented by 15 three-component receivers for passive seismic monitoring. An Elastic Wave Generator and horizontal shear-wave vibrator provided controlled seismic sources across 72 source locations.
A compact field team of four engineers and one geophysicist completed receiver deployment in one day, followed by one day of continuous recording, minimising disruption within the operational plant.
Why seismic was selected as the ground investigation tool of choice
Seismic imaging was selected to provide a non-invasive means of correlating and interpolating ground conditions between the two control boreholes. Rather than basing design decisions on isolated investigation points, the survey enabled a more continuous assessment of lateral and vertical variations in subsurface properties across the proposed development area.
The primary objective was to map bedrock depth and basement geometry, while also characterising soil units and near-surface conditions. This allowed the project team to assess whether the proposed locations for new vessels and steel structures were underlain by sufficiently competent materials, and identify potential changes in ground conditions that could influence foundation design.
Decision-ready insights, delivered in one week.
Despite operating within a live, built-up industrial facility, the survey was completed quickly and with minimal disruption. The compact equipment and flexible survey design allowed the field team to work efficiently around existing plant infrastructure while managing operational noise from active turbines.
From the deployment of the first receiver to delivery of the final subsurface image, the entire programme was completed within one week, demonstrating how high-resolution seismic investigation can be deployed rapidly, even in complex and access-constrained environments.
The results provided a continuous view between the two control boreholes and confirmed:
- The distribution of soil types across the proposed development area
- The presence and continuity of competent ground
- The depth and geometry of the basement
- The suitability of the proposed locations for new vessel pads and steel structures
This gave the customer greater confidence in the selected locations and the subsurface evidence needed to progress the planned expansion.
The impact
Rapid, decision-ready subsurface evidence that reduced uncertainty and strengthened construction planning.
Greater confidence in construction planning
Confirmed that the proposed locations were suitable for new vessel pads and steel structures.
Stronger evidence between boreholes
Extended insight beyond two control points to provide a continuous understanding of ground conditions across the area of interest.
Reduced ground-risk uncertainty
Integrated four complementary seismic methods with existing borehole data to validate the subsurface interpretation.
Rapid, low-disruption delivery
Produced decision-ready results within one week, despite the operational noise and access constraints of a live industrial facility.
A more complete site-investigation model
Demonstrated how seismic can complement, not replace, boreholes by revealing changes in ground conditions between control points.
Practical evidence for complex sites
Proved that high-resolution geotechnical insight can be acquired efficiently in noisy, infrastructure-dense industrial environments.
Planning a geotechnical project with limited subsurface information?
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