Category: News

Oliver Valvetek identifies new and emerging opportunities to supply higher pressure small-bore subsea valves, and recognises the technical barriers that hinder most other valve suppliers.

The subsea oil and gas industry has been rapidly developing new technology to allow the development of ‘challenging fields’.  These challenges are usually associated with high pressure, high temperature (HP/HT), and operation at great depths.

Fields with pressures of 15,000psi (1034bar) were generally considered high pressure, however, new fields are now being discovered and developed for well bore production with working pressures of 20,000 psi (1380 bar).

Oliver Valvetek had already successfully designed and qualified a 3/8” Nominal Bore 20,000 CWP needle valve for a High Pressure / High Temperature field development in the Gulf of Mexico.

Utilising this specialist and field-proven history with Shell Appomattox, Oliver Valvetek successfully developed and tested a Dual and Tripe Gate valve assembly in accordance with API6A PR2F, API 17D and API 17G.

The journey started early in 2021, Oliver Valvetek scoped out opportunities to supply other small-bore High Pressure / High Temperature valves to these new and technically challenging fields. Working closely with Trendsetter Engineering based in Houston on their modular Trident 20K Intervention System, Trendsetter and Oliver Valvetek engineers began work on designing valves that would meet these new high pressure, high temperature requirements.

Subsea small-bore valves have to conform to the same rigorous standards for design, qualification and manufacture as the much larger bore valves. Rapid demand for smaller compact HP/HT valves has mainly been due to increased numbers of 20,000psi fields being reviewed for development.

Clearly, the technical challenge for our engineering team, was how to achieve subsea qualification testing on much smaller and compact valves at much higher pressures and temperatures, and in rapid time. Importantly not compromising on Safety, which remains critical for valves being installed in these applications.

Work began in March 2021 to develop two valve types that were required for critical application of flow control and monitoring on the Trident 20K Intervention System – ½” Double Gate Valve and ½” Triple Gate Valve, both manufactured using Nickel Alloy 718 material.

Project technical specification requirement:

• High Pressure 20,000 psi
• High Temperature +150°C / +302°F
• Operating Depth 3:048m / 10,000 ft

Small bore gate valves are often used for chemical injection, venting flowlines and bypass lines, and these valves can be required in single isolate arrangements but also in double and triple or 3 valve assemblies.

Weight is a crucial factor for equipment being lifted and installed on the subsea. Using the very latest in elastic-plastic finite element software, valve designs have been optimised to produce the most compact small-bore valve to operate subsea at 20,000 psi high pressure.

API technical reports provided the necessary guidance to our engineering team, and client, on analysis tools and design processes for HP/HT subsea equipment.

This resulted in a Double Gate Valve comprising of 2 x manual Gate Valves in one block, and a Triple Gate valve with a combination of both manual and hydraulic functions. The full valve designs were subject to numerous technical assessments as part of the API qualification, followed by strict design evaluations including; FMECA, Elastic-plastic analysis, Ratcheting Assessment, and Fatigue Assessment, all of which were reviewed and verified by nominated I3P’s such as the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

Prototype testing takes many weeks to simulate valve operation at varying pressures, temperatures and working depths. Hydraulic actuated valves require separate testing on the hydraulic operation and the override operation.

Steve Williams explains the extent of the testing process, “Close client collaboration and extensive technical evaluations were instrumental to the success, as too, were the independent design and process validation by Third-Party and client Regulatory bodies evaluating all aspects of the design for Safety, Quality and long-term reliability.

“Enhanced QC & QA procedures at each stage of production of both valves were implemented, including body integrity pressure testing up to 30,000 psi. Even before the order could proceed, the ½” gate valve was subject to extensive in-house qualification procedures that simulated the intervention system, in an extreme pressure and temperature environment deployed subsea – all conducted in our own state of the art R&D facility.”

He continues “Valves operating in such extreme environments require extensive and arduous qualification testing to meet API standards. This project was the most technically reviewed and evaluated one we’ve ever undertaken, and by far, the most rewarding for our engineers and designers. Everyone involved in the project is acutely aware of the leaps we’ve made in terms of research & development, engineering design, and manufacturing processes. We’re all very proud of this achievement and very much look forward to future developments with our clients.”

For more information on how Oliver Valvetek can supply your subsea project with the very best valve solutions, contact us on +44 (0)1565 632 636 or email sales@valves.co.uk

Website: www.valves.co.uk

Oliver Valvetek prepared to ship a mix of hydraulic operated and manually operated gate valves to the Buzios Field, 200km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The offshore field owned by Petrobras, is located in the Cessao Onerosa region of the pre-salt Santos Basin and covers an area of 416km with water depths ranging from 1,600m to 2,100m. Oliver Valvetek has worked with two major oil and gas tree manufacturers to supply more than 200 – ½” hydraulic and manual operated gate valves operable at 10,000 psi ready for installing onto the full field Xmas tree development. As part of the subsea Xmas tree architecture, Oliver Valvetek have also provided subsea ball, needle and check valves which will be supplied on the same Subsea Xmas trees.

To find out how Oliver Valvetek can meet your subsea project valve requirements, contact us by telephone +44 (0)1565 632 636, email us at sales@valves.co.uk or visit our website www.valves.co.uk.

We’re delighted that Oliver Valvetek is among the 50 fastest growing, most innovative large independently owned businesses in the North West of England, official recognition that has been given by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

Operating from its headquarters in Knutsford, Cheshire, Oliver Valvetek has been manufacturing precision-engineered gate valves, ball valves, needle valves, and instrumentation valves for subsea oil and gas applications around the world, from extraction through to processing. The ever-changing demands for global energy and for greener renewables are forming a new chapter in the world energy sector, and one that Oliver is excited to help write.

The Top 50 list has been officially revealed by Law Firm; Ward Hadaway in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in their annual recognition awards to celebrate business achievements that demonstrate talent, drive, innovation and resilience to ever-emerging challenges and continued growth. Now in its 13th year, the list is ordered by average turnover growth, which has been assessed on a percentage increase based on the difference between turnover figures filed for the last three years.

To find out how Oliver Valvetek’s subsea valve innovation is leading the energy sector, contact us in the following ways; telephone +44 (0)1565 632 636, email: sales@valves.co.uk or online: www.valves.co.uk.

Production commenced this month on a significant order for more than 500 subsea valves made up of ½” Ball Valves and ¾” Check Valves. The order that exceeds £2m is earmarked for shipment to South America for use on the Yellowtail Development, off the Guyanese coast. Oliver Valvetek has again been selected to work with the Subsea Equipment Manufacturer and the end user, following on from previous successful project executions.

A number of important factors were considered by the customer in choosing the valves. Oliver Valvetek was able to provide a robust valve design to mitigate leakage risk to the environment and ensure long-term reliability; stem seals had dual seal technology to ensure double redundancy and the valves fitted with metal-to-metal gasket seals on the valve end connectors as opposed to conventional elastomeric seals.

The customer used collaborative standardised valve design, which allowed the SDU design and valve operational interfaces to remain the same, thus significantly minimising the need for design changes. All the valves on the project are fully qualified to API6APR2F and API17D 2nd Ed and are scheduled for shipping between August 2022 and May 2023.

The ball valves were also subject to an additional specialist qualification for the project to ensure that process wetted sealing was not affected by aggressive process media.

To find out how Oliver Valvetek can meet your subsea project valve requirements, contact us by telephone +44 (0)1565 632 636, email us at sales@valves.co.uk or visit our website www.valves.co.uk.

Oliver Valvetek distributes the first of two orders for its Subsea ¾” Actuated Gate Valves, earmarked for South America.

Our subsea gate valves are designed for operation at 15,000 PSI and have been specifically chosen for the project. We were able to work with the customer to meet a reduced lead-time for deployment on the first trees and EDP package, shipment of the second order of valves is expected at the end of October this year.

The deepwater field development plan involves production wells connected to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit. The FPSO will be permanently anchored to the seabed with a spread mooring system. The operational life of the FPSO is estimated to be a minimum of 25 years and will be one of the largest in the region.

For more information on Subsea valves, contact Oliver Valvetek on +44 (0)1565 632 636 or email sales@valves.co.uk | www.valves.co.uk

Cheshire based Oliver Valvetek Ltd is to be recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its excellence in international trade.

Established in 1994, Oliver Valvetek is a world leading manufacturer of subsea valve technology, predominantly for the oil and gas industry. Working with some of the most advanced deep-sea oil and gas extraction infrastructure manufacturers, the company produces an ever-expanding range of valves and related products that are vital components in the extraction of oil and gas.

More recently Oliver Valvetek has also found new opportunities for its technology to be used for CO₂ injection into depleted oil & gas wells as part of a growing demand for carbon capture and storage applications, delivering the decarbonisation of industrial emitters.

Now a second time winner of the Queen’s award for Enterprise earning recognition by achieving consistent growth in its international sales for three consecutive years. With more than 67% of the company’s entire order book being for export sales, Oliver Valvetek boasts a truly international reputation for innovation, customer service, quality and reliability.

The rigorous Quality Control and Quality Assurance systems and advanced manufacturing techniques needed to produce valves that can operate at depths of up to 3,000m, at up to 20,000psi, for more than a quarter of a century, in some of the most aggressive environments in the world is “run of the mill” for the 77 staff, including 9 engineers and 38 valve technicians, at the Knutsford headquarters.

Oliver Valvetek has over 140,000 valves deployed subsea, all designed in its dedicated Engineering facilities located in Knutsford and Glenrothes, Scotland. Highly trained Sales Engineers, Quality Assurance/Control teams and Customer Care teams support a number of global customer manufacturing hubs which service a truly international customer base spanning over 55 countries.

Utilising Oliver’s state of the art research and development facilities, which include a deep-water hyperbaric chamber, high pressure with high and low temperature environmental testing capability, Oliver Valvetek is able to continually innovate whilst ensuring extreme levels of reliability and meeting ever more stringent customer specifications. This has made Oliver Valvetek the first choice for many of the world’s leading oil and gas operators, utilising its in-house testing facilities to replicate actual “real world” operating conditions; just one of the many ways in which Oliver Valvetek partners with its customers to ensure the best possible outcome for even the most challenging applications.

Founder and Chairman, Michael Oliver is rightfully extremely proud of this achievement commenting, “To win the prestigious Queen’s award is a great business achievement and of immense personal pride to me. This has only been made possible by the extraordinary talent pool of people we employ in Cheshire and from the surrounding area. Our people are the jewel in the crown – it’s with their enthusiasm, commitment, and hard work that drive’s our global success and I’m extremely proud of the UK engineering excellence we’re delivering to the Global Oil and Gas industry of today and how we’re significantly investing in the energy demands of tomorrow with technological research and development in Hydrogen and Carbon capture…

…This is an exciting and transformational time for Oliver Valvetek and the global energy sector, and it excites me to see our new generation of engineers involved and learning from industry experts working at our facilities in Knutsford, to continue providing first-class solutions to the world’s energy needs in more environmental and sustainable ways. For the business to be crowned with such a royal award for the second time demonstrates that the future of Oliver Valvetek has never looked as strong as it does today”

Several issues need to be considered to design and configure a subsea development controlled and operated over a significant distance.

Various industries use subsea valves, with the oil and gas sector accounting for the majority, as there is a need to move material from, to, or below the seabed. Subsea valves are used in sub-marine environments, ranging in depth from shallow water (usually down to a depth of 75 meters) to Ultra-deep water (down to 3000 meters).

In today’s offshore oil and gas industry, wells have become deeper than ever, causing a growing demand for subsea ball valves that can withstand extreme pressures and harshest environments.

At Oliver Valvetek, we are a leader in developing ways to provide effective valve solutions under increasing temperature and pressure requirements at greater depths, offering subsea Needle, ball, Gate and Check valves that provide safe and reliable operation at very high external pressures.

What Are SubSea Valves?

Subsea valves are used to isolate or control the flow of material through an undersea Christmas tree, Subsea manifold, SDU, UTA or pipeline (submarine pipeline) or other subsea architecture. They are most commonly used to transport oil and gas or for chemical injection applications to ensure the continuous operation of the subsea installation. They are designed to function in a submarine environment while withstanding the effects of raised external pressure, wellbore temperatures, environmental conditions or debris in the material passing through the valve.

At Oliver Valvetek, our Subsea valves undergo stringent testing to ensure high Safety, Quality and reliability, assuring their Quality Assurance and Quality Control before being used in the industry. External environmental factors need to be explicitly considered for subsea valves. This includes specialist anti marine coating systems, High operating temperatures and pressure, and ensuring the valves are protected by the subsea systems Cathodic Protection (CP).

Subsea control systems

There are two different types of subsea control systems. Firstly, a basic control system, which is used to control normal operations of the subsea production system. Secondly, a safety control system is used to control abnormal incidents and avoid accidents by isolating the energy source.

Our knowledge in the oil and gas industry is combined with highly experienced engineering and modern production facilities allowing us to fulfil almost all requirements for subsea installations. Subsea valves are generally exposed to extremely harsh conditions, whether this is extremely high pressures, low and high temperatures, chemical interactions, or a combination of these. Attention to detail is required and recommended; as a trusted supplier over 125,000 subsea valves, we understand where valves are used as a necessity.

While some valves may be manually operated by divers, the majority are either manually operated by a Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) or hydraulically operated subsea valves controlled via topside. If this is the case, unique connections are required to ensure that the paddle or drive adapter is compatible with the valve as well as the ROV.

Hazards to Subsea Valves

Internal factors to consider for subsea valves are related to the type of process media (what passes through the valve apparatus). Typically in subsea environments, the process media will either be liquid, gas-based or a mixture of both. Additionally some processes due to the location of the operation, the process can also contain a significant amount of sand and debris. This can present several adverse effects including:

• Erosion of the valve internals
• Damage to stem and seat sealing faces within the valve
• Blocking of valve process flow paths within the valve

For more information about our Subsea valves, why not get in touch with Oliver Valvetek today?

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.

Subsea Distribution Units (SDU) and Umbilical Termination Units (UTA) are part of the critical Subsea architecture, for the safe and reliable handling of wellbore produced fluids. Selecting the right valve for these applications is vital to the overall efficiency and long-term reliability of the subsea field.

Underwater pipelines run at the bottom of the sea and allow a constant transport of oil and gas-produced fluids from the subsea well or manifold, which travels to the top side installation which could be an FPSO, platform or directly to an onshore processing installation. The ambient temperature, the process temperature and internal and hyperbaric pressure conditions at the seafloor in water depths of up to 3000m make the valve selection even more important.

Ensuring the safety of the entire subsea system requires high-quality valves for these specific oil, gas and control applications. Subsea Ball Valves provide the user with a soft seating quarter-turn isolation solution in either two-way, three-way, or four-way for many different applications. At Oliver Valvetek, we specialise in ball valves for subsea applications, commonly used in the subsea control systems, which are used to isolate, divert or test hydraulic and chemical lines associated with subsea oil and gas production systems.

Ball valve selection

Ball valves are one of the most commonly used valve types and can be found in use in a wide variety of industries. They have either a simple 90º or 180º operation and the possibility to allow uninterrupted flow to pass through the assembly makes this valve a popular choice for flow control applications.

Ball Valve Qualification

ALL Oliver Valvetek Ball valve products are rigorously qualified as a minimum to the latest API6A PR2F and API17D 2^nd Ed. Ball Valves are also subject to customer-specific testing which exceeds those standards.

At the heart of every Ball Valve

The key to the Oliver Valvetek Ball Valve is its market-leading design, design innovation and superior quality of components. Oliver only manufactures the heart of the ball valve itself – the ball. This is to ensure the strict quality requirements of ball sphericalness are achieved for long-term reliability.

Floating ball valves

If a low-pressure application is required, the simplest form of ball valve is the Floating type because of a design that utilises fewer mechanical parts. The basic principle behind a floating ball valve is a design that has a ball that will be pushed by fluid under pressure into the downstream seat when turned to the closed position. The seat, typically made of PEEK is designed to create a positive sealing surface when mated with the ball. Floating valves are typically used in applications that call for smaller bore sizes and lower pressures.

Trunnion Ball Valves

The most common Ball Valve for subsea applications is a Trunnion ball valve, offered in either two-way, three-way, or four-way configurations. These valves are used for high-pressure applications, typically up to 15,000 psi.

A trunnion Ball Valve is assembled in a three-piece design; the three sections consist of a middle section, which houses the trunnion ball, seat and stem assembly. The end closures are either screwed or bolted to the body with metal to metal gaskets.

Seat materials again are typically PEEK and can be supplied with various elastomeric or polymeric seals depending on the required application. Please contact our sales team for more advice.

Subsea applications

Subsea Ball valves can be operated by a variety of methods. Human divers can operate the valves in shallow water conditions. In deeper water environments, ROV-friendly actuators are utilised. Oliver Valvetek has a large variety of different industry or customer paddle and ROV intervention tool designs.

For more information about Subsea Ball valves and their use within Subsea applications, why not get in touch with Oliver Valvetek today?