Languages:
The production of Oil and Gas generates significant engineering challenges. Selecting the right Gate Valve for an application depends on many factors such as the nature of the product or the process fluid and whether it is liquid, gas, corrosive or dirty; the operating temperature and pressure; the working environment; the valve duty; and the shut off performance. There are a number of different types of Gate Valve and each has their own specific strengths.
Gate Valves, and in particular Through Conduit Slab and Expanding Gate Valves, provide superior sealing characteristics to any other type of valve configuration. As the demand for Subsea Processing increases, so in turn does the need for high integrity, zero leakage valves along with the demand for services to maintain their function and flow assurance. Not all of these services are sited on Subsea Production Systems, where the need for a weight-saving, space-saving and cost-saving solution is paramount.
The types of Gate Valve include valves with Through Conduit Slab, Through Conduit Expanding, Solid Wedge and Flexiwedge gates. Choosing an appropriate Gate Valve is dependent on the duty and the sealing characteristics demanded by the service; Through Conduit Slab Gates depend on the flowline pressure to effect a seal; whereas Expanding and Wedge Gate Valves are positive shut off valves that force the Gate onto the seats to effect a seal through increasing the torque and the thrust. In particular, the Flexiwedge is used for simple shut off duties where high temperatures are involved and to prevent the gate from jamming.
All designs are suitable for Surface and Subsea applications on both gas and liquids.
Through Conduit Gate Valves (TCGV) designed to API 6A, 17D, 6D and 6FA are custom manufactured by BEL Valves and supplied with Flanged, Butt Weld, Socket Weld, Hub Connectors, Compact Flange or other proprietary connections. Their pressure ratings are up to 16,500psi, temperature ranges from -46 to +175 Deg C and bore sizes from ½” to 42’’. All BEL Through Conduit Gate Valves have their sealing surfaces hard faced with Tungsten Carbide and can be configured with either rising or non-rising stems on Pneumatic or Hydraulic Actuators. The range of options underlines the engineering response from the integrated in-house capabilities at BEL Valves and the 6A and 17D Valves are available with cast or forged bodies and bonnets. All valves are available in Standard and Exotic Materials.
For Subsea applications they feature a Floating Piston which allows them to be overridden by an ROV even if the hydraulics are locked; a metal backseat in both open and closed positions and 316 stainless steel, as a minimum, in all wetted components; An Open/Close Indicator can be provided without compromising the valve size. A BEL Valves actuated TCGV can be installed
To download a data sheet and view a more detailed technical description, please click here.
Back to top ↑
Eccentric Ball Valve (E-Ball)
The untreated Production Stream from Hydrocarbon wells contains sand, scale, water and, often, corrosive compounds like hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. These, together with the mixture of oil and gas flowing under high pressures, exert severe wear on the seat to ball interfaces of the downstream valves. Maintaining and repairing these valves incurs production losses as well as the costs of works and intervention. Therefore, long valve life and reliability is one important requirement for pipeline valves.
Beyond this, Personnel working on downstream Processing Units need to be protected from line pressures during maintenance periods and this procedure requires the upstream pipeline to be vented. Usually, this involves employing a ‘Double-Block-and-Bleed’ system to ensure that two sealing mechanisms are present to prevent leakage. Double-Block-and-Bleed typically requires two mainline valves, a distance piece and a venting system incorporating another valve. The engineering, procurement, installation and maintenance considerations of such an assembly are considerable.
Finally, Production Systems include the installation of an Emergency Shut Down Valve (ESDV) to protect the downstream facility, installed, typically, in flowlines as a fundamental design criterion.
Wear and tear on the main seal area between the ball and seat rings is inevitable in designs that are in contact during the operation of the valve. No matter how hard and abrasive-resistant the coating the narrower the gap means the higher the velocity and the higher the velocity means a higher erosion rate.
If a single valve could address each of these problem areas simultaneously it would be a significant step towards enhancing Operational Performance, minimising CAPEX and OPEX and simplifying the Production Architecture.
The Eccentric-Ball Valve (E-Ball), designed and manufactured by BEL Valves, is a Patented single valve that performs each of these three functions simultaneously.
It works through a mechanical wedging action in an eccentric seating arrangement that enables the body to be continually flushed of debris. There is no contact between the ball and the seat except for the first two degrees of opening and the last two degrees of closing rotation which means there is no prospect of seizing during long periods of inactivity. The E-Ball is a robust, compact, top-entry valve design with a Firesafe qualification and bi-directional seals at both sides of the eccentric ball that enables the central cavity to be bled. Fewer valves means fewer actuators and parts, fewer leak paths, the elimination of weld integrity doubts and a reduction in hydraulic service requirements. A single valve saves weight, space and is easier and cheaper to install.
The design, which meets API 6A, 6D and 6FA, ANSI B16.34 and ASME VIII, is an innovation that brings Performance Improvement, Savings in CAPEX and OPEX and Simplifications in the Design Layout and Installation. It is available in Bore Sizes from 2’’ to 20’’NB, for Surface Applications in Standard and Exotic Materials that comply with NACE/EN Standards.
Back to top ↑
Check Valves
Pressure Surges in Oil and Gas applications cause problems that can include back-flows leading to contamination of service fluids and potential damage to pipelines, process units and vessels. This gives rise to the need to protect systems against this eventuality.
Check Valves, or non-return valves, provide this function in all product flowlines and service lines on Surface and Subsea installations. Their duties can include: Injection, Control and Isolation functions, as well as system protection.
BEL Valves manufactures Check Valves in NB sizes, ½” to 24’’, and larger, for Pressure Classes ANSI 150 to 4500 and API 2,000 to 15,000psi. They are available in Flanged, Butt Weld, Socket Weld, Hub Connectors and other proprietary connections and are designed to API 6D and 6A. Additionally, BEL Valves’ Check Valves are Tested and Accredited to API 6A Appendix F PR2 and API 17D hyperbaric. They are available in Standard and Exotic Materials, with appropriate Trims, including Low Temperature Carbon Steels and Alloys. In critical applications enhanced corrosion resistance is achieved on the sealing surfaces by cladding with stainless steel or Inconel and all materials meet NACE specifications.
To download a data sheet and view a more detailed technical description, please click here.
Back to top ↑
Downstream processing and Chemical manufacturing is an important part of the Oil and Gas Industry which draws on equipment designed to satisfy similar API and ANSI specifications to those used in hydrocarbons production projects. Generally the size of piping, the valves and other equipment used in these processes is much smaller than that used in Oil and Gas production. The requirements for valves intended for processing oil, gas and chemicals are lower working pressures, high working temperatures, the number of crevices and “dead” spaces kept to a minimum and the valves capable of opening and closing against pressure without creating a rapid change in pressure downstream.
These Processing Applications include Urea and Ammonia Production and these tend to be viscous and non-lubricating fluids with noxious effects if released to the atmosphere. For Downstream processing and Chemicals manufacturing, Globe Valves find ready acceptance because they are capable of giving a tight shut off at high and low pressure and maintaining this with changing temperature. They can be opened and closed to give a gradual change of flow, reducing the risk of downstream pressure shock. The body and seats are designed to eliminate cavities and crevices.
BEL Valves supplies Globe Valves for corrosive and hazardous duty, such as Urea Service. The valves can be manufactured from a range of materials, such as Austenitic Stainless Steel, and Nickel Alloys, with internal components made from suitable materials. For low temperature service such as Ammonia production, the valves are made from Low Temperature Carbon Steel with 13% Chromium trim and Stellite hard facing. When the service conditions require it, the materials of the valves can be supplied to NACE Standards. The size range includes Nominal Bores from 0.5 to 24’’ in Globe Patterns and ½” to 10’’ in Angle Patterns and in Pressure Ratings ANSI 150 to 4500 and API 2,000 to 15,000psi. Design Codes include ANSI B16.34 and API 6A.
To download a data sheet and view a more detailed technical description, please click here.
Back to top ↑
High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS)
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.
To download a data sheet and view a more detailed technical description, please click here.
Back to top ↑
New, surface-based Oil and Gas reserves are being located in more remote and difficult areas of the world.The need for control systems that meet the high performance levels demanded by the dynamic range of valve products within the BEL supply portfolio requires systems that may be required to meet the needs of SIL 3. This includes both elevated and arctic environmental conditions, requiring some form of conditioning to cover the environmental swing between the summer and winter months.
The Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU), Accumulation and Controls all play a very important part in the design and installation of a reliable and safe system. As with all critical systems they need to have the flexibility to carry out partial closure testing, valve condition monitoring and be able to interface with the Distributed Control System (DCS) or HIPPS logic solver as required by the operator. Reliability data must be maintained throughout the life of the product to minimise plant shutdowns.
Control system design 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 controls solution. Control systems in some cases need to meet stringent Safety Integrity Level (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, reliable and robust solution to control systems design by employing a totally co-ordinated in-house design. Our engineers carry out system detailing using the latest CAD software, calculations, validation of workshop build/testing, commissioning and operator training.
Back to top ↑
(A Division of British Engines Ltd)
St Peters, Newcastle upon Tyne
UK, NE6 1BS
Tel: +44 (0) 191 265 9091
Fax: +44 (0) 191 276 3244
Email: enquiry@belvalves.com
Registered in England 167542
© BEL Valves 2009
