The importance of Subsea Valve testing

In critical subsea systems, nothing is more essential than structural integrity to assure performance, safety and reliability. For subsea equipment where any failure or malfunction within a unit poses not only a primary safety concern but can also result in a severe commercial setback, reliability becomes a central concern. Deploying equipment deep underwater is costly and often challenging; therefore, it is vital to verify a product or component’s reliability under extreme pressure before it is deployed. This will increase efficiency and reduce the risk of unnecessary costs.

At Oliver Valvetek, our team is experienced in providing extensive field-proven flexible subsea valves for oil and gas applications from extraction through to processing. With robust systems for production, testing, Quality Assurance or Control and Valve Qualification to the latest industry standards of API6A PR2F and API17D 2^nd Ed, we deliver the best subsea valve solutions you require with complete product traceability.

Subsea Valves

Subsea valves can be installed into Subsea Systems with a working pressure of up to 20,000psi and sit in depths of up to 3,000m of water, and replacement of components at this depth requires remotely operated vehicles or full retrieval of the subsea architecture. For this reason, the replacement of even a single valve can become a multi-million-pound operation. At Oliver Valvetek, we take the performance and compliance testing of our Subsea valves seriously. It is the only way for clients and manufacturers to be entirely certain that a valve will perform reliably throughout its entire lifespan.

This is where subsea testing comes into play; the valves are put through their paces under simulated conditions. Most commonly used to transport oil and gas or controlling the operation of the subsea system, subsea valves are designed to function in a submarine environment, withstanding the effects of raised external hyperbaric pressure, salt-water corrosion, highly corrosive process media, or debris in the process carried thought the valve.

Oliver Valvetek subsea valves meet performance, safety and reliability expectations in the deepest water and harshest environments in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Dynamically testing the valve

Dynamic testing to either API6A PSL3, PSL3+G or PSL 4 means opening and closing our valves under specifically defined operating conditions. This is the only way to ensure that any possible leak paths are identified and that the valve will operate to its designed parameters. Any operational issues could cause the valve to fail subsea, resulting in a complete loss of function. As the demand has grown, we have been committed to testing, developing new and innovative ways to control the increasing temperature and pressure requirements at these greater depths.

Safety at the core of subsea valve development

As global energy companies continue to extract oil and gas from reserves deeper under the sea, the demand for pipeline technology increases, and valve manufacturers continuously develop and improve their products’ reliability.

Oliver Valvetek uses subsea testing, which takes the probability of any individual component in the system failing along with the level of risk presented by that failure, to improve the reliability of a valve design.

With the broader industry, Safety, Quality and Reliability are Oliver Valvetek’s primary concern and we work hard to ensure everything possible is done to minimise risk.

For more information on Oliver Valvetek’s innovative testing process to ensure extreme levels of reliability, why not get in touch today?