MEET IN G PLAC E

Norwegian megaproject centre stage at

Valve World Conference 2020
Karan Sotoodeh
(Baker Hughes)
will be present at
the Valve World
Conference 2020
in Düsseldorf
to discuss a
megaproject
for one of the
Johan Sverdrup-
platforms. Center
stage are three 38”
top entry actuated
ball valves that
are located on an
oil export line. The
project entailed

F
irst of all, Johan Sverdrup (see also box
various design text for Facts and figures) is one the most
improvements significant offshore projects on the
Norwegian continental shelf. As for the
that are relatively valves that are installed on the riser platform:
new in the these are the largest, heaviest and most expen-
sive valves on the four platforms in the field.
offshore valve “Each of them can have approximately
business. 70 tonnes in weight, roughly 67 tonnes for the
valve and three for the actuator”, Karan says.
By Lucien Joppen “The valves also have a one-and-a-half-year
delivery time which affects the whole project
delivery significantly. Bear in mind that various
parties were involved in this project: Equinor as
the end-user, Aker Solutions Oslo and UK, the
French valve manufacturer Altifort FCT, as well as
actuator suppliers and casting, machining and
welding companies as subsuppliers. All these
companies are situated in Europe. However, the
topside was constructed in South Korea. This
meant that the valves had to be shipped from
Italy (casting, machining, welding) to France for
assembly, coating, testing and packing, and then
from France to Korea for installation. After that,
the entire topside was transported to the Johan
Sverdrup-field” (see box text).
Focus on design
In his presentation at the Valve World Conference
2020, Karan will focus on different aspects of the
www.valve-world.net
valve design to reduce the weight, space, wall
thickness, reducing operational issues, welding
and material selection.
“Equinor specifically requested for valves that would
be able to perform over 50 years, which exceeds the
‘normal’ life span of 25-30 years”, Karan says. “Now,
the corrosiveness of the medium was not the issue
due to the characteristics of the oil that is won on
the Norwegian continental shelf. However, this oil
is waxy, which can lead to complications when this
wax accumulates in the seat pockets of the valves.
This wax needs to be removed regularly, which
requires frequent opening and closing of the valve
that is situated directly behind the pig launcher. This
valve is scheduled to open and close every week for
a period of 50 years: approximately 2500 cycles in
total. I will talk about the design aspects during the
conference that have been included to warrant this
performance over time.”
Double piston effect
Although the valve-actuator packages weigh
around 70 tons – a respectable weight – the
overall weight has been reduced by roughly
10 tonnes via various engineering design
techniques which Karan will discuss during his
presentation at the conference.
“The other important design concept for these
valves is to have Double Block and Bleed type 2
configuration as per API 6D for providing better π
Valve World August 2020 57
ME E TI N G PL AC E

sealing and to protect the operator in case is a double-acting hydraulic actuator with
of maintenance. The double piston effect applied passive fire protection in case of

20 20
is only in effect for one seat, not both fire. “In my presentation I will also go into
seats. The end-user didn’t want this for the material selection and the challenges to
both seats as this would have required the weld the valves to the pipeline. It was an
installation of a pressure relief valve on the interesting and challenging job, considering
body.” the different materials (carbon steel, duplex
The other unique design improvement is steel, Inconel 625) and the varying thickness
related to the actuator of the valve, which of the materials involved.” Karan Sotoodeh is working at Baker
Hughes (in Norway, Oslo-area) as
a Senior Lead Valve and Actuator.
Johan Sverdrup: facts and figures Karan is well-known in the global
Johan Sverdrup is the third-largest oil field in valve community, and he is a regular
the North Sea and lies 140 kilometres west contributor to Valve World magazine.
of Stavanger. With expected resources of He also has served as a member of the
2,7 billion barrels of oil, the field is one of the LEGEND
Gas pipeline Steering Committee for the 2016 and 2018
most important industrial projects in Norway 0 50km
Oil pipeline
edition of the Valve World Conference,
for the next 50 years. Mongstad and he has spoken/presented at said
Phase 1 of the field was opened in October Bergen conferences and the Valve
2019, and phase 2 is scheduled to begin World Asia Conference 2015
production in the fourth quarter of 2022. Norway and 2017.
• Production start for phase 1: October 2019. Kårstø
• Water depth: 110-120 meters Stavanger Karan Sotoodeh will
• Reservoir depth: about 1900 meters present at the Valve World
The Johan Sverdrup field
• Expected production: 660,000 barrels a day Conference 2020 at the Materials & Design
when production reaches plateau in phase 2. technical session, to be held on the
• Total resources are estimated at 2,7 billion second day of the conference, December
barrels of oil equivalents, and the ambition 2nd. This session will take place from 13.20
is to extract more than 70 per cent of the reserves. to 15.00. Other presenters at the technical
• When production is at plateau, it will make up 30 per cent of all Norwegian oil session are Thomas Weisschuh (AS-
production Schneider), Fadila Khelfaoui (Velan) and
• Total production income over 50 years of NOK 1,430 billion Leire Colomo (Ampo Poyam).

58 Valve World August 2020 www.valve-world.net