futureproofing subsea valves – towards 4,000m-ag尊龙凯时

as energy companies look for new sources of subsea oil and gas to exploit, they are turning to ever deeper reserves.

currently, the record for the deepest well below the water’s surface is shell’s perdido development in the gulf of mexico, which has a well located at 2,934 metres below sea level.

at this depth – more than a mile-and-a-half down – the pressure is [over 4,000 psi], or [more than 270 times] greater than at the surface. creating valves that operate in these conditions is a considerable engineering challenge.

our valves are designed using advanced mathematical models and prototypes are produced with computer-aided manufacturing techniques. however, once we have created a new valve and created a prototype, the only way to know if it works as required is to test its performance in simulated conditions.

for this we use a hyperbaric chamber – a rigid-walled sealed vessel in which we can raise the pressure to those present on the seabed at 3,000-plus metres.

inside this test apparatus, we can open and close the valve repeatedly under simulated pressures and temperatures, monitor leakage rates and track whether they change over time and operate within acceptable limits.

interestingly, the very high pressures involved in these trials means that designing and building the test rig is almost as challenging as making the valves themselves. in order to deliver valid tests, the chamber must be able to contain very high pressures with stability for several hours [or even days] at a time [depending on the test being carried out.]

as a result, keeping test equipment up to date represents a significant investment for valve manufacturers.

future-proofing our test equipment is a big part of this, and that’s why we have recently invested in a new hyperbaric chamber which can simulate pressures up to more than [5,600] psi, high enough to simulate conditions at 4,000 metres below sea level – over a third of the way to the deepest point in the ocean.

while we are still many years from seeing oil extraction at these depths, a fundamental part of our ethos is to look ahead at the challenges our customers will face five or even 10 years down the road and to make sure we are in a position to supply them with the equipment they will need.