Aberdeen’s Interventek Subsea Engineering is launching a new Open Water Well Control Valve designed for light well intervention (LWI) and workover operations, including large bore, deepwater and HPHT applications.
Image of the Open Water Well Control Valve body in the workshop, from Interventek. |
This shear and seal valve brings a new class of well control equipment to the market, says Interventek.
The valve will be launched at Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston next month (1-4th May 2017).
Utilizing a newly developed, linear form of their patented Revolution technology, Interventek’s open water well control valve provides critical safety protection during LWI, particularly in emergency disconnect situations. It can cut through obstructions and immediately provide bi-directional sealing protection at full working pressure. The use of resilient seals for fluid containment avoids the risk of rapid gas decompression. The uniquely separated cutting and sealing mechanisms within the valve means that, unlike other products, such as gate valves, its sealing surfaces are protected during cutting.
“This new valve has been designed to exceed the standard cutting capability of wireline/ coiled tubing class shear and seal products. It is able to shear slickline, braided cable, coiled tubing and notably 2in sinker bar. This means that Interventek’s valve can be used in LWI operations where only wireline toolstrings are utilized and where employing higher cutting, heavier and more costly safety head equipment would be an unnecessary over specification. This new offering bridges the gap between these two classes of shear and seal products and provides the operator with a more cost effective, versatile and appropriate solution,” says John Sangster, technical director at Interventek.
“Intervention activity performed through open water from floating vessels can significantly reduce operational costs when compared to the use of a rig and riser based intervention system, often making this the preferred option for maximizing productivity from mature assets or for decommissioning operations. To date however, there has been a lack of suitably designed, fit for purpose safety valves that could be incorporated into existing well control packages for this type of operation. Valves must be light-weight and compact enough to be deployed through open water from a floating mono-hull vessel where deck space, derrick height and lift capacity are at a premium, but have the strength and power to cut large obstructions and then reliably seal in the well,” says Gavin Cowie, managing director at Interventek.
"Interventek’s well control valve has been designed with this in mind, keeping weight and size to a minimum and can be up or down graded depending on individual requirements. No other safety valve on the market offers this unique combination of form, function and associated benefits,” says Cowie.