OIL & GAS
The Oil & Gas industry involves processes which see diverse requirements in terms of pressures, flow rates, pipeline sizes, refined product properties and environmental regulations. These present control valve manufacturers with a wide array of challenging applications. Products must be designed to tackle the most severe conditions, ranging from high pressure, extreme temperatures, and erosion due to velocity, cavitation, and noise.
UPSTREAM
Advancing offshore production and injection technologies require subsea choke valves to meet market demands.
A typical severe chemical injection application may occur when new production wells are tied back to an existing subsea system. In this event, low and high pressure production wells will likely share the same chemical injection header. Topside recycling and re-injection of chemicals also adds to the risk of particle contamination. High flow, high pressure drop and particle contamination in chemical injection applications requires special trim technology.
Kent Introl’s Series 75 Subsea Choke Valves are suitable for applications including single or multi-phase production, water/chemical/gas injection and artificial gas lift. Our versatile subsea chokes can operate in a wide range of conditions including HPHT (high pressure, high temperature), Joule-Thomson effect applications, deep water, low temperatures and high shut-in pressures. KKI’s multistage spline trim can be utilised for improved resistance to erosion, cavitation and vibration.
Operators consistently demand a discrete stepping actuator to ensure accurate well control. Additionally, in emergency conditions an additional fast-acting feature is required to ensure the integrity of the system. To meet the requirement, the valves can be supplied with a wide range of actuators and instruments to provide fast-acting feature required to ensure the integrity of the system in emergency conditions.
Midstream
Typical of the midstream industry are gas compression stations which are vital in the transportation of the natural gas from individual producing well sites to end users.
At constant gas consumption downstream, the compressor runs in a stable condition. However, when the consumption of the users varies, and quick reduction of the speed of rotation of the compressor is not possible, downstream pressure builds up. Increase of downstream pressure approaching surge point has a consequent risk of severe damage to the compressor. In fact, reverse flow can occur inside compressor and produce dangerous instability and strong vibrations.
To prevent this condition, Parcol’s Specialty Valves for Antisurge Application can be installed in the compressor discharge line, with appropriate instrumentation to recycle the gas to the suction line. An appropriate flow through this valve ensures an adequate flow through the compressor to maintain operation above the surge point.
Specifically studied for severe service applications, LIMIPHON valves were designed and built by Parcol in 1971. Based on the concept of multi-path and multi-stage labyrinths (velocity controlled trim), LIMIPHON trim combined with a high capacity single cage trim is able to withstand critical working service conditions by warrant high flow capacity. LIMIPHON trim allows a precise control of fluid velocity inside the valve trim, by dividing flow into many streams to minimize the energy levels, reducing vibrations and noise.
Surge is a very fast phenomenon that can seriously damage the compressor. Therefore, the safety equipment chain for the compressor protection must be very reliable and able to act in a very fast way, in order to prevent surge conditions.
Downstream
Refineries across the globe emphasize improving the reliability of major equipment to increase production and throughput while avoiding shutdowns.
In gas processing and LNG systems, Linear Control Valves, including globe or angle style body, may have an excessive pressure drop in the maximum flow/open position, due to the inherent friction characteristic of the body flow path. Parcol’s 4-4000 Series Control Ball Valves are the best choice to combine high flow capacity with accurate regulation at small flow conditions.
With its large diameter, a wide range of CFD-engineered multi-stage, multi-path control trims can be installed in the port of the ball flow bore, achieving high rangeability. The specific trim design allows high control capability, effective noise reduction on gas flows and anti-cavitation action on liquid flows. Noise and cavitation prevention, as well as capacity, rangeability, excellent tightness and control characteristics, are optimized for every process condition with the availability of several trim geometries, which can be configured to best satisfy Customer requirements. The range of control options includes the premium ‘LIMIPHON’ velocity control Trim for the most severe min-max span of control.