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The global search for new Surface and Subsea Oil and Gas reserves means that Operators have to deal, increasingly, with High Temperature High Pressure scenarios. In simple terms, Production Wells are rated by their shut-in pressures and, even though they do not flow at this rating, conventional practice dictates that the downstream equipment must be designed to tolerate a ‘fully-rated system’. Typically, a well might be rated for 10,000psi but a HPHT well might be rated for upwards of 15000psi. Fully rating these systems requires thick-walled pipelines and vessels that are expensive to procure and difficult to install, especially in deepwater.

The HIPPS installation is a Safety Instrumented System of Control (SIS). It is a technological innovation that seeks to exploit the difference between the shut-in pressure and flow-pressure by permitting the flowline to be de-rated to conventional levels and protecting it from pressure excursions by sensing the upset conditions and shutting down the overall system quickly. HIPPS is, therefore, an enabling technology that impacts the logistics, economics, safety and the environment, all of which contribute to the overall project viability by enhancing the flexibility and architecture.

HIPPS are the only systems which protect against over pressure scenarios and the loss of containment simultaneously, but the whole system must satisfy stringent Safety Integrity Levels (SILs).

The decision to include a HIPPS depends on multiple assessments to mitigate risk, but a first step is to find a supplier with an established reputation who can provide a fully integrated solution. HIPPS systems need to meet stringent SIL requirements, and should not be simplified only to a Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD), because each installation has a unique set of calculations for Risk Assessment. BEL Valves and Hima-Sella have combined their resources to provide a complete, piggable Solution to HIPPS by employing a totally coordinated in-house Design, Engineering, Project Management and Manufacturing Supply Chain and are qualified to warrant and certify each particular application. Between them Hima-Sella and BEL Valves have more than seventy years of experience in providing high integrity components and installing tried and tested products, worldwide.