From Ground Information to Engineering Confidence
Before digital or physical infrastructure can be installed, project teams need reliable information about the physical environment. Ground conditions, wellhead positions and underground utilities must be understood before engineering and installation activities progress.
Apave subsidiary, Lonestar, supported the client across key Abu Dhabi onshore assets by coordinating geotechnical investigation, laboratory testing, surveying and underground utility detection through one regional delivery model.
One coordinated team. Reliable technical information. Better-informed project decisions.
The challenge
An Abu Dhabi onshore well digitalisation programme required reliable technical information across a large number of well locations and multiple asset areas. The scope included assessing ground conditions, conducting soil investigation and laboratory testing, confirming wellhead positions, detecting underground utilities and producing accurate, engineering-ready data.
For a project of this scale, fragmented technical activities could create inconsistent data, duplicated effort and handover risks:
- Ground condition assessments to support engineering and installation planning.
- Soil characterisation, chemical analysis and corrosivity testing.
- Wellhead positioning and survey control points across all three asset areas.
- Underground utility detection and mapping before installation.
- Simultaneous coordination of field, laboratory and reporting functions.
Group Engineering-Specification | ASTM Standards | Abu Dhabi International Building Code
All deliverables produced to full regulatory and engineering specification
One coordinated delivery model


Geotechnical Investigation


- Soil boring and field investigation
- SPT testing at defined intervals
- Laboratory classification & chemical analysis
- Corrosivity assessment & bearing capacity reports
- Settlement analyses & interpretative reports
- All work to applicable engineering specifications and ASTM standards
- Supervised by registered geotechnical engineers
Topographic & Underground Detection


- Survey control network establishment
- Detailed well head area mapping
- Wing valve orientations & cellar levels
- Electromagnetic underground utility detection
- Ground-penetrating radar where required
- Trial pit verification at congested locations
- Digital Terrain Models (DTM)
- Full AutoCAD deliverables
The Value for the Client
Ground data is not a deliverable - it is a decision. Every foundation design, every installation sequence, every risk assessment that follows depends on what was found and recorded at this stage. When that data is incomplete, inconsistent, or split across vendors, the cost shows up later, in redesigns, delays, and programme risk.
Apave Lonestar's integrated delivery model was built specifically to eliminate that risk at source. It helped the project team to:
- Improve visibility of ground and site conditions across dispersed locations
- Identify potential utility constraints before installation activities began
- Support engineering and construction planning with accurate, verified data
- Reduce uncertainty through one coordinated regional team
Local Knowledge That Informs Every Decision
Most technical inspection companies in the Gulf can offer local expertise. Lonestar has been building it since 1992.
For more than three decades, Lonestar’s geotechnical engineers, laboratory specialists and survey teams have worked across the UAE’s energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors - building the field knowledge, the regulatory familiarity, and the client relationships that shape reliable delivery in this market.
What this type of programme requires is not just technical competence. It is the ability to coordinate geotechnical investigation, laboratory analysis and topographic survey as a single workflow, across dispersed locations, with one team accountable throughout.

Since 1992

One coordinated team

Apave Group subsidiary
Planning a complex upstream or infrastructure project?
Reduce uncertainty before the next phase begins
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