AMIEP-61 - 2 - Geotechnical Engineering Procedures-Onshore

SAUDI ARAMCO TOTAL PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX
Issuer: PMT
Geotechnical Engineering Procedures - July 2021
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
AMIEP-61
Geotechnical Engineering Procedures – Onshore
Based on SAEP-61
“Any modification on the AMIRAL standard is not retroactive and does not require
implementation or modification to existing facilities.”
This AMIRAL Engineering Procedure (AMIEP) provides the general procedures to be

followed while undertaking Onshore Geotechnical related work.
The present document or drawing is property of SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY and TOTAL RAFFINAGE CHIMIE S.A. and
shall not, under any circumstances, be totally or partially, directly or indirectly, transferred, reproduced, copied, disclosed or used,
without its prior written consent, for any purpose and in any way other than that for which it is specifically furnished or outside the
extent of the agreed upon right of use.
Page 1 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Table of Contents
1 Scope .................................................................................................................................. 4
2 Conflicts, Deviations and Clarifications............................................................................. 4
3 Applicable Reference Documents ...................................................................................... 4
4 Definitions .......................................................................................................................... 5
5 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 6
6 Instructions ......................................................................................................................... 7
7 Roles and Responsibilities ................................................................................................ 14
Appendix 1 - Geotechnical Form (electronic version can be obtained from Company) ......... 16
Appendix 2 - Report Checklist ................................................................................................ 17
Appendix 3 - Geotechnical Report Request Form ................................................................... 19
Appendix 4 - Request to Utilize Past Geotechnical Report Form ........................................... 20
Appendix 5 - Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement Checklist........................ 21
Appendix 6 - Soil Improvement Method Statement/Scope of Work Checklist....................... 22
Appendix 7 - Soil Improvement Final Report Checklist ......................................................... 23
Page 3 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
1 Scope
This AMIRAL Engineering Procedure (AMIEP) defines the procedures to be
followed by Company, Contractors and Sub-Contractors while undertaking
onshore Geotechnical related work for AMIRAL executed projects.
2 Conflicts, Deviations and Clarifications

2.1 Any conflicts between this standard and other applicable Company Engineering
Standards (AMIES), Material Specifications (AMIMS), Standard Drawings
(AMISD), Engineering Procedures (AMIEP), Company Forms or Industry
standards, specifications, Codes and forms shall be brought to the attention of
Company Representative by the Contractor for resolution.
2.2 Where a licensor specification is more stringent than those of this standard, the
Licensor’s specific requirement shall apply.
2.3 Where applicable Codes or Standards are not called by this standard or its
requirements are not clear, it shall be brought to attention of Company
Representative by Contractor for resolution.
2.4 Direct all requests for deviations or clarifications in writing to the Company or its
Representative who shall follow internal Company procedure and provide final
resolution.
Until the resolution is officially made by the Company Representative, the most
stringent requirement shall govern.
3 Applicable Reference Documents

The selection of material and equipment, and the design, construction,
maintenance, and repair of equipment and facilities covered by this standard shall
comply with the latest edition of the references listed below as of the CUT-OFF
DATE as specified in the Contract unless otherwise noted.
AMIES-A-100 Surveying Coordinates and Datum
AMIES-A-112 Meteorological and Seismic Design Data
AMIES-A-113 Geotechnical Engineering Requirements
AMIES-A-114 Excavation and Backfill
AMIES-Q-001 Criteria for Design and Construction of Concrete
Structures
AMIES-Q-005 Concrete Foundations
AMIES-Q-006 Asphalt Concrete Paving
Page 4 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
AMIES-Q-007 Foundations & Supports for Heavy Machinery

AMIES-Q-009 Concrete Retaining Walls
4 Definitions
Definitions presented in this Standard and other AMIRAL documents have
precedence over other definitions. Conflicts between various definitions shall be
brought to the attention of Company Representative by the Contractor for
resolution.
Company: AMIRAL (Saudi Aramco and Total Petrochemical Complex)
Company Representative: A designated person from the Company or an assigned
third party representative.
Company Inspector: A designated person or an agency responsible for
conducting inspection activities on behalf of the Company.
CRM Customer Relationship management
PMT Project management Team
SOW Scope of Work
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
Approved Geotechnical Contractor: A Company approved agency for
performing geotechnical investigations and engineering calculations. Company
maintains the current list of Approved Geotechnical Contractors.
Geotechnical File Number: A unique file number assigned by Company to each
Geotechnical Investigation upon approval of the geotechnical investigation Scope
of Work
Professional Civil Engineer: A graduate Civil Engineer who has a valid
Professional Engineer license, a Chartered Engineer license or PE membership
with Saudi Council of Engineers
Page 5 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
5 Introduction
This document outlines the procedures to be followed during geotechnical related
work. The procedures for various geotechnical related tasks are outlined in sections
6.1 to 6.6. A summary of tasks and corresponding procedure section is provided
below.
5.1 Task Procedure
1. Initiating a Geotechnical Investigation Section 6.1
2. Submitting a Geotechnical Investigation Report Section 6.2
3. Requesting a Past Geotechnical Report Section 6.3
4. Requesting to utilize Past Geotechnical Report Section 6.4
for a New Project
5. Method Statement for Earthworks and Soil Compaction Section 6.5
6. Soil Improvement Document Submissions Section 6.6
Each of the above tasks would require submission of appropriate Forms or
Checklists as outlined in sections 6.1 to 6.6 and summarized below. All Forms and
Checklists are provided in Appendix. Latest electronic version of the
Form/Checklists can be obtained from Company.
5.2 Task Form/Checklist
1. Initiating a Geotechnical Investigation Appendix 1
2. Submitting a Geotechnical Investigation Report Appendix 1, 2
3. Requesting a Past Geotechnical Report Appendix 3
4. Requesting to utilize Past Geotechnical Report Appendix 4
for a New Project
5. Method Statement for Earthworks and Soil Compaction Appendix 5
6. Soil Improvement Document Submissions Appendix 6, 7
All geotechnical related work shall be in accordance to the Company Construction
Safety Manual
Disclaimer:
Company reserves the right to review and accept or reject reports, method
statements, and designs of the contractor or designer, which shall not relieve any
such contractor or designer of any contractual obligations and liabilities
whatsoever and they shall bear all respective risks in relation to the adequacy and
correctness of information set out in any reports by its sub-contractor and shall
Page 6 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
remain liable and responsible for any deficiency in sub-contractor’s work and its
consequences on the project.
Quality Assurance of Submissions
All documents submitted to Company for review shall have quality assurance.
Documents shall have originator name and date, reviewer/approver name, company
name and appropriate signatures. Documents which are submitted to Company
without out such quality assurance shall be rejected.
6 Instructions
6.1 Initiating a Geotechnical investigation
6.1.1 The geotechnical investigation Scope of Work (SOW) must be reviewed and
accepted by Company for all geotechnical investigations as required by AMIES-A-
113.
A Geotechnical File Number shall be obtained by PMT or Company Proponent,
using “Geotechnical Form ” (Appendix 1), prior to initiation of any field work.
6.1.2 A Scope of Work for the geotechnical investigation shall be prepared using the
Company “Scope of Work Template” (latest electronic version of this template can
be obtained from Company) and shall include all requirements of AMIES-A-113.
6.1.3 The geotechnical investigation must be undertaken by one of the Company
Approved Geotechnical Contractors (as per the requirements of AMIES-A-113).
6.1.4 The steps below shall be followed by PMT or the Company Proponent to obtain
the SOW acceptance and Geotechnical File Number from Company. Figure 1
shows the steps schematically.
a) The PMT or Company Proponent shall submit the Scope of Work document
and “Geotechnical Form ” (Appendix 1) with Section A filled out to Company
via a CRM Engineering Request.
b) Company shall review the submitted Scope of Work document and accept it if
it meets all the requirements of AMIES-A-113.
c) A letter from the geotechnical contractor endorsing the adequacy of the
proposed investigation program shall be submitted to Company to obtain the
Geotechnical File Number. If the geotechnical contractor endorsement letter is
not available at this stage, the accepted SOW can be used for bidding and
selecting the geotechnical contractor. The selected geotechnical contractor
shall then provide an endorsement letter, which shall be submitted to
Company to obtain the Geotechnical File Number.
Page 7 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
d) Company shall provide the Geotechnical File Number for the investigation in
“Geotechnical Form (Appendix 1) ” Section B.
Note: It is a violation of AMIES-A-113 to perform a geotechnical Investigation

without a Company issued Geotechnical File Number.
Figure 1 - Scope of Work Review and Acceptance Process
Note: The content of the table has to be read as follows:

− CSD to COMPANY
− SAPMT to PMT
− SAES to AMIES
− SAEP 383 - to be deleted
Page 8 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
− SA9866 to be deleted
6.2 Submitting a Geotechnical Investigation Report for Company Acceptance
6.2.1 The Geotechnical contractor shall submit the draft geotechnical investigation report
to the Main contractor/designer for review and the revised report shall be endorsed
by Main contractor/designer.
6.2.2 The Main contractor/designer endorsement letter shall state “the geotechnical
report has been reviewed and endorsed as providing all the required geotechnical
data, in line with the Scope of Work, for the project.”
6.2.3 The steps below shall be followed to submit the Geotechnical report for Company
review. Figure 2 shows the steps schematically. It shall be noted that the report
review can take 10-15 working days.
a) The PMT or Company Proponent shall submit the following items via a CRM
Engineering Request.
1. “Geotechnical Form -(Appendix 1) ,” with Section B (SOW accepted and

a Geotechnical File Number assigned by Company) completed, and
Section C filled in.
2. Endorsement letter from the Main contractor/designer.
3. Geotechnical report.
4. Report Checklist (Appendix 2) fully completed by the Geotechnical
contractor.
b) Company shall review the submitted report and either accept it or reject it.
• If the report is accepted, the acceptance will be provided in

“Geotechnical Form (Appendix 1)” Section D.
• If the report is rejected, Company comments or reason for rejection
will be provided. PMT or the Company Proponent shall ensure that the
report is revised to address the comments and resubmitted via a CRM
Engineering Request for review and acceptance.
Note: Company does not review reports from projects which are not following
AMIES-A-113.
Page 9 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Figure 2 - Work Flow Process for submitting a Geotechnical Report for Acceptance
Note: The content of the table has to be read as follows:

− CSD to COMPANY
− SAPMT to PMT
− SAES to AMIES
− SAEP 383 - to be deleted
− Saudi Aramco CSD to COMPANY
− Saudi Aramco to COMPANY
6.3 Requesting Past Geotechnical Reports from Company

6.3.1 In order to obtain a copy of a past geotechnical report, “Geotechnical Report
Request Form” (Appendix 3) shall be completed by the requester and submitted via
a CRM Engineering Request to Company.
Page 10 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
6.3.2 Company may provide a copy of the past geotechnical report, if it is available in
Company database, with the following restrictions:
a) Past geotechnical reports shall only be provided by Company to a Company
department /employee.
b) Company cannot validate the accuracy of the past geotechnical reports due to
possible change in ground level (cut/fill) and/or ground water level that may
have occurred since the time of geotechnical investigation and survey
accuracy of the locations.
c) Past geotechnical report contents and recommendations may not be valid or
applicable to new projects even if the location of interest/new project is same
as that of the report. Formal concurrence by Company, as detailed in Section
5.4, is required for utilizing past report content for new projects.
d) Past geotechnical reports may not be legally associated with new projects due
to contractual report ownership issues.
6.4 Requesting to Utilize Past Geotechnical Report Information for a New Project
6.4.1 Information from Company accepted past geotechnical reports near a new project
location can be a good source of preliminary information of the project. However,
information from past geotechnical reports shall not be utilized for the detailed
design in a new project unless it is recommended by the Main contractor/designer
by a letter and supported by a stand-alone report produced by a Company
Approved Geotechnical Engineering Office.
6.4.2 The steps below shall be followed to obtain Company concurrence to utilize past
geotechnical report for a new project.
6.4.2.1 The PMT or Company Proponent shall submit the following items via a CRM
Engineering Request.
a) Fully completed “Request to Utilize Past Geotechnical Report Form
(Appendix 4).
b) Stand-alone report from Company Approved Geotechnical Engineering
Office. The stand-alone report shall consist of below items:
• Report shall have full Quality Assurance of contractor (Contractor Name,
Prepared By, Approved By, Date, Rev No. shall all be provided in first
page of report).
• Introduction - explaining the project and structures to be built.
• Objective - explaining why the old reports are being used and why a site-
specific investigation is not undertaken or required.
Page 11 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
• New Foundation Details - Dimensions, bearing pressure of new

foundations, static or vibrating loads, etc.
• Arial Map - Clear map with UTM coordinates showing existing borehole
locations (from old reports designated by Geotechnical File Number and
boring number) and new project location (foundation/structure locations).
The distance from the existing boreholes to the new project location shall
be clearly marked.
• UTM reference datum used shall be clearly stated in the report
(International 1924 Ellipsoid, Ain (Ayn) Al Abd 1970 or World Geodetic
System 1984 (WGS84)).
• Summary of Soil Conditions from old report/s (soil type, soil strength and
water level and relevant bore hole logs).
• Geotechnical Parameters - geotechnical parameters for new project
design (allowable bearing capacity, design ground water level, soil type
with depth, etc.).
• Critical Items – Main contractor shall confirm whether or not any critical
issues are involved in the project (deep excavations, vibratory foundations
etc.).
• Conclusion – All geotechnical data required for the new project shall be
summarized (bearing capacity etc. for design shall be provided)
c) Recommendation letter from Main contractor / designer.
The letter from Main contractor/designer shall state,
“All required geotechnical data for the new project and structures is available
in the existing past geotechnical report/s and its use in detailed design as
presented in the stand-alone report is considered acceptable.”
d) Company shall review the “Stand-alone report” and accept or reject the use of
the past geotechnical report for the new project.
e) If the use of past geotechnical reports for the new project is not accepted by
Company, a new site specific geotechnical investigation as required by
AMIES-A-113 may need to be performed.
6.5 Method Statement for Earthworks

6.5.1 All earthworks and soil compaction work shall follow AMIES-A-114
Page 12 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
6.5.2 The review and approval of earthworks Method Statement shall be undertaken by a
Professional Civil Engineer of the Main contractor in accordance with the
“Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement Checklist” (Appendix 5).
Main contractor’s approval letter and the method statement shall be submitted to
Company for acceptance.
6.5.3 Company acceptance is not required for earthworks less than 2 m in thickness.
6.5.4 Method Statement for earthworks and/or soil compaction shall contain all the
information listed in the “Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement
Checklist” (Appendix 5).
6.5.5 The following shall be submitted, via CRM Engineering Request, to Company
acceptance in earthworks and soil compaction projects.
a) Earthworks and/or Soil Compaction Method Statement.
b) “Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement Checklist” (Appendix 5)
fully completed by Profession Engineer of the earthworks contractor.
c) A letter from Main contractor stating that the “Earthworks and Soil
Compaction method statement is reviewed and approved as acceptable for the
project requirements, [Main Contractor] is liable and responsible for any
deficiency in sub-contractor’s work and its consequences on the project.”
6.6 Soil Improvement Work
6.6.1 The review and approval of method statements, trial report and final report shall be
undertaken by a Professional Civil Engineer of the Main contractor in accordance
with the “Soil Improvement Method Statement/Scope of Work Checklist”
(Appendix 6) and “Soil Improvement Final Report Checklist” (Appendix 7). The
Main contractor’s approval letter and the relevant documents shall be submitted to
Company for acceptance.
6.6.2 The following items shall be submitted, via a CRM Engineering Request, for
Company acceptance in soil improvement projects.
a) Prior to Soil Improvement Work Initiation
• Soil Improvement Method Statement.
• “Soil Improvement Method Statement/Scope of Work Checklist”
(Appendix 6) fully completed and signed by the Profession Engineer of
soil improvement contractor.
• Approval letter from the Main contractor stating that the “Method
Statement for the soil improvement has been reviewed and approved as
acceptable for the project requirements. [Main Contractor] is liable and
Page 13 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
responsible for any deficiency in sub-contractor’s work and its

consequences on the project.”
7 Roles and Responsibilities

7.1 Company’s role is to act as technical reviewer to ensure that contractor’s work and
documentation is technically correct and follows the applicable mandatory
engineering requirements of the Company. Company’s responsibilities are:
− Review and accept geotechnical Scopes of Work.
− Review and accept geotechnical reports.
− Release of past geotechnical reports as information for new project.
Ensure that all geotechnical work complies with this procedure and AMIES-A-113
and other relevant mandatory engineering requirements of the Company.
7.2 Project Management Team (PMT)
PMT’s responsibilities are;
− To manage and communicate with all contractors.
− To ensure all procedures as stated in this document are followed.
− To ensure that submissions to Company are complete with all required
documentation and that Main contractor reviews of documents have been
conducted prior to submission to Company.
7.3 Main Contractor/Designer
Main contractor/ designer responsibilities are:
− To ensure that project is undertaken in accordance to the contract and in
accordance to mandatory engineering requirements of the Company.
− To manage and communicate with all subcontractors.
− To ensure all procedures as stated in this document are followed.
− To review and endorse all geotechnical-related reports by subcontractors prior
to submission to PMT.
− To ensure that all geotechnical investigations are undertaken by Company
Approved Geotechnical Contractors.
7.4 Approved Geotechnical Contractors
Approved Geotechnical Contractors’ responsibilities are:
− To provide endorsement letter for SOW.
Page 14 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
− To perform geotechnical investigations only after obtaining a Geotechnical

File Number for Company accepted SOW.
− To perform geotechnical investigations in accordance to the SOW and
AMIES-A-113.
− To produce geotechnical reports in accordance to the SOW and AMIES-A-
113.
− To ensure that the “report checklist” is fully completed and submitted with the
geotechnical report.
Page 15 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 1 - Geotechnical Form (electronic version can be obtained from

Company)
Page 16 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 2 - Report Checklist
Page 17 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Page 18 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 3 - Geotechnical Report Request Form
Page 19 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 4 - Request to Utilize Past Geotechnical Report Form
Page 20 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 5 - Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement

Checklist
Page 21 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 6 - Soil Improvement Method Statement/Scope of Work

Checklist
Page 22 of 23
Issuer: PMT
Rev: 2
Onshore AMIEP-61
Appendix 7 - Soil Improvement Final Report Checklist
Page 23 of 23

AMIEP-61 - 2 - Geotechnical Engineering Procedures-Onshore

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

AMIEP-61 - 2 - Geotechnical Engineering Procedures-Onshore

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

AMIEP-61 - 2 - Geotechnical Engineering Procedures-Onshore

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SAUDI ARAMCO TOTAL PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX

This AMIRAL Engineering Procedure (AMIEP) provides the general procedures to be

2 Conflicts, Deviations and Clarifications

3 Applicable Reference Documents

AMIES-Q-007 Foundations & Supports for Heavy Machinery

Note: It is a violation of AMIES-A-113 to perform a geotechnical Investigation

Figure 1 - Scope of Work Review and Acceptance Process

Note: The content of the table has to be read as follows:

1. “Geotechnical Form -(Appendix 1) ,” with Section B (SOW accepted and

• If the report is accepted, the acceptance will be provided in

Note: The content of the table has to be read as follows:

6.3 Requesting Past Geotechnical Reports from Company

• New Foundation Details - Dimensions, bearing pressure of new

6.5 Method Statement for Earthworks

responsible for any deficiency in sub-contractor’s work and its

7 Roles and Responsibilities

− To perform geotechnical investigations only after obtaining a Geotechnical

Appendix 1 - Geotechnical Form (electronic version can be obtained from

Appendix 2 - Report Checklist

Appendix 3 - Geotechnical Report Request Form

Appendix 4 - Request to Utilize Past Geotechnical Report Form

Appendix 5 - Earthworks and Soil Compaction Method Statement

Appendix 6 - Soil Improvement Method Statement/Scope of Work

Appendix 7 - Soil Improvement Final Report Checklist

You might also like