IN THE OCEANS’ DEPTHS,
VALVES FACE
UNIQUE CHALLENGES
As exploration for new oil and gas ources goes deeper into the ocean and further from shore, valves in service to that industry will have new pressure, temperature and urability requirements.
BY LUIGI CANNISTRACI
Despite short-term reduction in exploration activity caused by the
recent global recession, world energy
demand continues to grow, which will
fuel an explosion in offshore exploration over the next decade.
Deep and ultra-deep prospects will
continue to eclipse mature shallow
water hydrocarbon production, which
has seen a decline in capital expendi-
tures in recent years. Thanks to major
technological improvements and deep
water exploration and production suc-
cesses, the definition of deep water has
changed over the last decade—passing
from a threshold of 200 meters to over
1,000 meters. What was considered
deep 20 years ago is now considered
shallow; and the greatest potential is
now represented by fields located at
depths of over 1,000 meters. In fact,
most new projects under development
today range between 1,000 and 2,000
meters. These deeper (than decades
past) water projects—together with
increased distances from shores and
increasingly harsh environments—rep-
resent the next frontier in exploration,
production and transmission. This
deepwater shift also is driving technol-
ogy changes across many subsea com-
ponents, including risers, connectors,
separators, pumps, inspections, umbili-
cals and valves.
