Subsea Ball Valves Tested for Excellence for Critical Nature of Subsea Systems
Subsea critical systems require equipment that is reliable and safe with assured performance. BuTech, a division of Ingersoll Rand that manufactures high-pressure valves and system components, is committed to delivering high-pressure valves, fittings, tubing, and other accessories that you can trust. BuTech’s latest subsea ball valves are designed with that same philosophy in mind, creating a solution that could withstand the extreme pressures and temperatures of a deep-sea setting, with qualification testing to prove it.
These subsea ball valves are held at an incredibly high standard, tested in accordance with the highest oil and gas specifications. To assure they were meeting industry standards set out in API 6A 17D, BuTech worked with Tyne Pressure Testing (TPT) to evaluate both two-way 10K and three-way 10K ball valves.
Overseen by Tyne Pressure Testing’s expert engineers, the ball valves ran in TPT’s Chamber 4 for 200 hyperbaric cycles, with pressures reflecting water depths of 4,140m, along with 600 endurance cycles. To also ensure API 6A PR2 industry standards, TPT’s Bay 1 carried out a total of 200 environmental cycles, comprising of 160 cycles at ambient temperatures, 20 cycles at 121°C and 20 cycles at -18°C.
After concluding the tests on the two-way 10K and three-way 10K ball valves, inspection data confirmed both ball valves passed, meeting client and industry standards. The testing protocols prove that BuTech’s subsea ball valves can withstand extreme pressure and temperature variations and are suitable for deployment in a hostile, subsea environment.
Scott Reib, BuTech’s Product Manager, stated: “The offshore oil industry requires that valves being used on critical equipment deployed to the ocean floor go through extensive testing to insure their performance. Tyne Pressure Testing, who is one of only a handful of companies that can perform this testing, was instrumental in helping us achieve this qualification for our subsea ball valves. Throughout testing, our subsea ball valves performed above and beyond the API specifications, proved peak performance operation in mission-critical applications.”