DESIGN NAME: Subsea BPR
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Pipeline Protection
INSPIRATION: The vision of the Subsea Back Pressure Regulator (BPR) is to enable oil and gas operators to protect lines and to harvest fields for a longer period of time in an environmentally safe way. Pipelines returning production fluids from subsea wells to surface can fail due to corrosion if not protected by injections of corrosion inhibitors. In water depths of 2,000 to 10,000 feet, chemicals siphon without continuous control into a well that has less pressure than the surrounding sea water.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Subsea back pressure regulators can be used for new or old oil and gas fields. For old fields, they can be used for wells, which have reduced pressures. For new fields, subsea back pressure regulators typically start service without regulating pressure; they are activated when a well eventually loses pressure. They can operate without power, communication, or interface to a field control system. They activate when required. They are also very debris tolerant.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: The product is carried below the surface of the ocean via a Remote Operating Vehicle. It is installed above chemical injection flow pipelines that run along the sea floor to a well location. The device is dormant until the pressure on the inlet falls below a predetermined gas pressure. This gas charge pressure activates a first throttling stage. Multiple stages downstream in the valve trim dissipate a drop when needed. The activation of separate throttling points allows dirty fluid to continually pass without fouling the device.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project started in September 2013 in Woodinville, WA in the United States of America. The product was successfully deployed and qualified in the Gulf of Mexico in December of 2014. The product is currently being introduced to the market.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Product Engineering and Technical Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: The product has two pressure stages through which chemicals flow. The first stage has a hermetically sealed gas charged reference pressure activator, which moves from idle when injection pressure hits a factory set point for pressure. It does this without power by balancing pressure areas, which act on throttling mechanisms. The second stage, a pressure balanced piston, continually manages debris and eliminates internal cavitation issues.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Length is 1,087 millimeters. Diameter is 250 millimeters. The product can be deployed 10,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Its pressure rating is 10,000 Pounds Per Square Inch. To resist such pressures, it is made of exotic stainless steel alloys. The product's inlet sensor accuracy rating is plus or minus .05 percent. The chemical flow range is .79 to 189 liters per hour. Its operating temperature range is 4 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius. The product design life of 25 years.
TAGS: CIMV, SkoFlo Industries, Chemical Injection Metering Valve, Subsea Back Pressure Regulator, BPR
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: A customer could not find a product or solution for their technical issue in the market. A full investigation of the customer’s needs and the market potential was made. The customer proposed funding for the effort to accelerate the product’s development. Several prototypes were designed, assembled, and tested for the undersea environment. A fully operational product was put into field test. The product successfully went through full qualification test at the customer’s site.
CHALLENGE: Dissipating pressure drops over 10,000 pounds per square inch without erosion or cavitation over a 1,200 to one range of flow and last indefinitely. Cavitation is a result of fluids moving with sufficient velocity to transfer pressure energy into velocity energy. Cavitation can go through a .25 inch thick metal injection line in a few hours. Stopping fluid velocity by throttling with low velocity. Activating without power when needed to regulate the inlet of the valve at constant set point pressure.
ADDED DATE: 2016-02-28 07:00:49
TEAM MEMBERS (3) : Chief Engineer: Mark Kirchner, Design Engineer: John Tomlinson and Engineer: Brandon Urbano
IMAGE CREDITS: Main Image: Engineers Brandon Urbano, Jachen Duschletta, Subsea Back Pressure Regulator Image, 2016
Optional Image #1: Agencies, Wala Marketing, Octaga Visual Solutions, 2016
Optional Image #2: Engineers, Clinton Koontz, Vishak Sivadas, Jachen Duschletta, Agency, Momentum Creative, Subsea Back Pressure Regulator Key Features Schematic, 2016
Optional Image #3: Engineers Brandon Urbano, Jachen Duschletta, Exploded View of Subsea Back Pressure Regulator Image, 2016
Optional Image #4: Engineers Brandon Urbano, Jachen Duschletta, Translucent View of Subsea Back Pressure Regulator Image, 2016
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Patented. Patent Number 912228. Patent Holder: SkoFlo Industries. September 1, 2015. Jurisdiction: US Patent Office. Patented for US and International.
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