CCI

SPRING 2005
SPOTLIGHT ON OIL & GAS
PAGE 2
CCI ‘RHP PLUS’
PROGRAM SOLVES
VENT VALVE
LEAKAGE
PAGE 3
CCI’S DRAG®
TECHNOLOGY
IMPROVES STATION
OPERATIONS,
PROVIDES LONGTERM SAVINGS
PAGE 4
CUSTOMER TABS
CCI (AGAIN)
FOR THIRD VALVE
INSTALLATION
CCI ‘RHP Plus’ Program Solves Vent Valve Leakage
A
SAUDI GAS PLANT WAS HAVING
A PROBLEM WITH VENT VALVE
LEAKAGE. CCI ENGINEERS INSPECTED
ONE OF THE TWELVE VALVES ON THE
n
Special case-hardening of the plug
n
No scratches of any kind were
found on the hardened plug
n
The RHP seal and back-up
hard seat were found in perfect
condition
n
The valve was easily rebuilt,
After a four-month monitoring period, no leakage
was observed.
SITE TO FIND THE ROOT CAUSE OF
A final inspection revealed that the debris blocker
THE LEAKAGE. They discovered that
successfully excluded larger debris and let smaller
construction and pipeline debris (most
debris flow through. It was also discovered that:
likely weld slag and gasket remnants) were
n
There was no corrosion in the new bonnet cavity
being pushed through the system and
tested and returned to service
As a result, valves with the debris
blocker upgrade, now have
consequentially damaging the valve seat.
repeatable, proven zero-leakage. In
Secondly, it was discovered that fine, pieces
this service environment, repeatable
of debris from pipe walls were scratching
zero-leakage has never previously
the plug and sealing surfaces, both of
been achieved.
which cause balance seal leakage. Finally
there was direct corrosion of the sealing
surfaces in the bonnet.
New Balance
The plant needed to have its valve internals
Seal Arrangement
(plug and balance seal) protected from
Upgraded bonnet
pipeline debris and corrosion.
316 SS
The solution was a five-component
upgrade in vent valve design. The major
component of the upgrade was CCI’s
proprietary Redundant High Pressure
(RHP) seating technology. RHP utilizes a
Upgraded balance seal
Seal retainer with upper
Redundant High Pressure
wiper ring
(RHP) Seat
Guide bushing with upper
RHP soft seat design
wiper ring
Plug seat angle without
double seat, the first being a special high-
hardface
pressure soft seat, while the second is a
RHP soft seat seal
high-pressure hard seat.
Another component of the upgrade was
the installation of a sophisticated inlet
The entire upgrade of the plant’s
debris blocker which excludes the heavier
12 valves took approximately two
debris and permits the finer debris to pass
years.
through, while not affecting vent capacity.
As a side benefit, this solution pays
The blocker removes much of the debris so
off for the customer by eliminating
most of the scratching and gouging caused
undesired venting and minimizing
by the large debris is eliminated. The
the emission of methane, a
filter’s outer strainer spacer and inner mesh
Special Case
plate allow a continuous stream of finer,
Hardened Plug
smaller debris to flow through the filter
Base Material
without damaging the valve or seals.
316 SS
The upgrade also included:
n
n
Installation of a stainless steel bonnet
to prevent corrosion
A new balance seal arrangement with
wiper rings
2
Inner Layer
Stellite Hardface
Outer Layer
Tungsten Carbide
greenhouse gas. Elsewhere in
Inlet Debris Blocker
Spacer
316 SS/304 SS
Inner Liner
1.5 diameter perforated plate
Outer Liner
0.60 Diameter perforated
mesh sheet
the region, some neighboring
countries of Saudi Arabia are
eager to comply with the 1997
Kyoto Protocols which call for a
reduction in harmful greenhouse
gases like methane. RHP seats have
already helped one emirate in the
region comply with the Kyoto
Protocols. n
CCI’s DRAG® Technology Improves
Station Operations, Provides LongTerm Savings
I
N A MOVE THAT FURTHER
pumps will steadily supply crude oil to
SOLIDIFIES CCI’S PRESENCE AS A
the various refineries in California. Further,
MAJOR SUPPLIER OF SOLUTIONS TO
the station can operate for longer periods
AMERICAN WEST COAST OIL PIPELINE
of time without having to make frequent,
CONCERNS, the company was able to
unscheduled maintenance stops.
help regulate and improve flow conditions
at a major pipeline supplier of crude oil in
Southern California.
This is the second incident of CCI coming
to the rescue of this particular customer
for a pipeline-application solution. Earlier,
A major oil refinery station is responsible
this customer was experiencing on-going
for safely transporting crude oil via
vibration issues at one of its California
pipelines to refineries throughout
facilities. At that time, an independent
the state.
valve service company hired to address
The customer complained that
the vibration problem, recommended
Masoneilan-supplied valves, on average,
CCI based on its knowledge of CCI’s
lasted less than a year in service and also
dependable solutions.
caused the plant operator to lose control
CCI custom designed the customer’s
on the low end.
valve trim to handle the valve’s full range
CCI investigated and disassembled the
of operations which included working
stainless steel cage-guided trim on one of
with a variety of crude viscosities. The
the valves. It was discovered both the cage
customer’s pipeline manager at the facility
and the plug were severely eroded at the
remarked that [the CCI valve] “eliminated
low end.
most or all of the noise and vibration for
Upon analysis of the flow conditions, and
using ISA guidelines, it was recommended
that a minimum of six stages was needed
the first time in 15 to 20 years,” while
still providing crude oil to a refinery in
Northern California.
to control the erosive velocities of crude
Based on CCI’s past successes with this
oil. In addition, CCI recommended that
customer, CCI is increasing its valve base
the trim be made of Inconnel 718 to
business in California and this particular
tackle the small amount of particulates
customer will be
in the fluid.
called on as a
CCI ended up supplying the customer
with five valves.
reference to “sell”
valves to other
customers. n
Although CCI’s DRAG valve was the
®
more expensive solution for this customer,
the high quality and dependability that
CCI provides will improve the facility’s
operation and result in long-term savings.
This CCI solution benefits the customer
in that continuous operation of its
Masoneilan Cage Trim
3
Customer Tabs CCI (Again) for Third Valve
Installation
B
ASED ON CCI’S PROVEN SUCCESS IN
CCI originally came to this customer because
THE AREA OF FLOATING PRODUCTION,
a Valtek valve needed replacement in 2001. The
STORAGE AND OFFLOADING, CCI installed
originally installed Valtek valve simply could not
DRAG® valves on a seawater injection pump
support the application’s requirements. The old
recirculation system for a vessel belonging to
valve, on an Ivory Coast vessel did not have enough
one of the world’s leading operators of FPSO’s.
pressure-reducing stages to adequately control the
This installation, off Norway’s Atlantic coast, is
velocity of fluid flowing through the valve, creating
CCI’s third installation of a pump valve with
numerous problems.
this customer. The pump recirculation seawater
injection valve is crucial because it preserves the
pump system which must run continuously for
effective plant or vessel operation.
CCI’s previous valve installations have taken
place with this customer in Nigeria and the
Ivory Coast. This customer recognizes CCI’s
global reputation as the severe service
doctor and plans to avoid problems
by installing a new valve for a preexisting installation. This time, the
customer is purchasing a 6.0” X 6.0”
100D Angle Valve for its Norway-
Seeing these problems firsthand on its Ivory
Coast operation, the customer was persuaded to
select CCI’s severe service valves (rather than its
competition’s conventional valves) for all of its
Nigerian-based vessels.
Designed specifically to meet the requirements
on FPSO vessels, CCI’s DRAG® solutions prevent
high velocities by dividing the flow into many
streams, each with several right angle turns that
can reduce the pressure of the seawater flowing
through the valves. Lower velocities eliminate
vibration and erosion. n
based project.
CCI World Headquarters
Telephone: (949) 858-1877
Fax: (949) 858-1878
22591 Avenida Empresa
Rancho Santa Margarita,
California 92688
USA
CCI Austria
(Spectres Components GmbH)
Telephone: 43 1 869 27 40
Fax: 43 1 865 36 03
Lemböckgasse 63
1230 Wien, AT-1233 Vienna
Austria
CCI China
Telephone: 6501 0350 0650
Fax: 6501 0286
Room 567/569 Office Tower
Poly Plaza
14 Dongzhimen South Avenue
Beijing 100027
China
4
CCI FK
(Fluid Kinetics)
Telephone: 805 644 5587
Fax: 805 644 1080
2368 Eastman Avenue, Suite 8
Ventura
California 93003
USA
CCI Italy
(STI)
Telephone: 39 035 29289
Fax: 39 035 2928246
Via G. Pascoli 10A-B
24020 Gorle, Bergamo
Italy
CCI Japan
Telephone: 81 726 41 7197
Fax: 81 726 41 7198
4-15-20 Shukunosho
Ibaraki-City, Osaka 567-0051
Japan
CCI Korea
Telephone: 82 341 980 9800
Fax: 82 341 985 0552
26-17, Pungmu-Dong
Gimpo City
Kyunggi-Do 415-070
Republic of Korea
CCI Switzerland
(Sulzer Valves)
Telephone: 41 52 264 95 00
Fax: 41 52 264 95 01
Im Link 11 P.O. Box 65
CH-8404 Winterthur
Switzerland
CCI Sweden
(BTG Valves)
Telephone: 46 533 689 600
Fax: 46 533 689 601
Box 603
ES-661 29 Säffle
Sweden
For more articles visit
ccisolutionsonline.
com
Visit us online at:
www.ccivalve.com
Contact us at:
info@ccivalve.com
All rights reserved. Solutions™, DRAG® and CCI
DRAG® are trademarks of CCI. CCI valves are
manufactured under various United States and
international patents.
©2003 CCI
800
02/05 10K