Month: October 2021

Traditionally the actuation of subsea valves is through the use of either manual operation, i.e. divers and remote operating vehicles (ROV) or hydraulic actuators.  Hydraulic actuators, as the name suggests, utilises pressurised hydraulic fluid acting on pistons to force the valve to either open or close.  Frequently using a spring to reverse the operation.  The supply of the pressurised hydraulic fluid can involve lengthy and costly umbilicals.  One alternative approach which is gaining more and more acceptance is for the use of subsea electrical actuators.

Over the past 3 years, Oliver Valvetek has supplied a number of 1” subsea multi-turn gate valves for operation by a particular client’s subsea electric actuators.  In a recent discussion between our client and their end user, a question was raised concerning increasing the rotational speed of the actuator to 40RPM and its effects on the Oliver gate valve.

To address this, our client performed a series of endurance tests on one of the production Oliver 1” gate valves.  The test program included a series of opening cycles with the valve under differential pressure, followed by 200 opening and closing cycles and finally a repeat of the opening cycles with the valve under differential pressure.  The objective being to review the torque to operate the valve through all the cycles noting any changes in torque profiles.

The 200 opening and closing cycles would be performed with no pressure in the valve in order to minimise resistance to the momentum of the rotational movement.

Overall the valve passed the test with consistent torques throughout all the cycles all being well within the design limits of the product.

The oil and gas industry continues to reach further into increasingly complex reserves in ever-more challenging environments. The surge in the number of subsea operations is making tougher demands on technology developers, making the importance of intelligent technology paramount. Bringing efficiency to these complex operations is growing every day and at Oliver Valvetek, this is something that we specialise in.

The quest for the optimum solution is always the objective of oil and gas Valve producers, such as ourselves, when evaluating designs for new valve processes or upgrading existing facilities. Although most end-user engineers will express some ‘out of the box ideas, they often fall back on tried and tested solutions as innovation is sometimes seen as a risk.

In harsh subsea environments, it’s critical to have equipment that allows operators to monitor the safety and efficiency of the subsea architecture continuously. The experience our team has at Oliver Valvetek will enable us to provide extensive field-proven subsea valves for oil and gas applications. We are thoroughly familiar with the requirements of the National, Major and Independent Oil and Gas Operators, Contractors and OEM’s throughout the world.

Read more below about how Oliver Valvetek is Conquering Unique Demands of the Offshore Environment with Custom, Value-Driven Manifold and Piping Solutions.

Process safety and availability

In an environment where safety and environmental protection are as critical as profitability and performance, there is the challenge to find the right mix of technologies to help them achieve safety and profitability. Process and application awareness is the central challenge today because data is the key to overcoming all the most persistent challenges: safety, efficiency, reliability and life of field maintenance.

Improving subsea valve technology is a prime goal to the exploration of production companies to increasingly recognise that the use of intelligent control systems is becoming a competitive advantage and a defining factor of intelligent valve development. There are developments within the industry and of working towards all-electric subsea production control systems to replace industry-standard electro-hydraulic control systems. All with the aim of making them more environmentally sustainable.

The intelligent valve controls to reduce risk and save money

A growing proportion of the oil and gas industry’s investment in new technology is focused on intelligent systems. These systems improve efficiency and make complex subsea reserves viable. Oliver Valvetek has a number of innovative designs and features led by field application developments and TEK Research and Development dedicated department to assess the technology needed years in advance. The industry is looking to incorporate ‘smart’ features into many components in the offshore production infrastructure to improve efficiency and enhance remote control capability as well as improved reliability and mean time to failure reduction.

Oliver Valvetek has developed a series of valve designs specifically designed for life at sea. In addition to the most reliable hardware and innovative intelligent subsea valve, controls give operators unparalleled awareness and control of their processes.

Valve solutions will no doubt be custom built to meet the specific needs of offshore applications, improve the integration of valve control with data flows, and make their response more accurate and more precisely adjustable. Get in touch with Oliver Valvetek today for more information about the processes when Conquering the Unique Demands of the Offshore Environment.