News
Apache Corporation
Having successfully furnished several of Apache’s other UK North Sea assets (inc. Beryl Bravo & Forties Charlie & Delta) with the innovative, in-house developed v-Trakka Universal Valve Position Indicator, ABLE have now been commissioned to retrofit this innovative device to the Xmas tree valves on the Beryl Alpha Platform.
The v-Trakkas will be replacing pressure transmitters installed on the valve hydraulic lines, the accuracy and reliability of which has been compromised by regular blockages necessitating intensive maintenance. Conversely, once fitted, the v-Trakka requires minimal attention.
Having successfully furnished several of Apache’s other UK North Sea assets (inc. Beryl Bravo & Forties Charlie & Delta) with the innovative, in-house developed v-Trakka Universal Valve Position Indicator, ABLE have now been commissioned to retrofit this innovative device to the Xmas tree valves on the Beryl Alpha Platform. The v-Trakkas will be replacing pressure transmitters installed on the valve hydraulic lines, the accuracy and reliability of which has been compromised by regular blockages necessitating intensive maintenance. Conversely, once fitted, the v-Trakka requires minimal attention. Many operators no longer use limit switches for control of Xmas tree valves as they are considered unreliable and unsuitable; limit switch technology only provides valve status as fully open or fully closed with no continuous feedback. The consequences of incorrect valve position control can include process failures, shutdown and most importantly impact on a safe working environment. Such loss of production can incur massive costs. For a continuous direct valve position measurement, ABLE have developed a universal valve position transmitter (v-Trakka) which can be retrofitted to most leading types of surface Xmas tree valves to provide an accurate and repeatable 4-20mA output correlating to the actual physical valve position. Once installed, the v-Trakka requires no maintenance. The v-Trakka is a compact, lightweight mechanical instrument suitable for installation in the harsh well environment. The 316 st/ st cover and rigid base provides significant protection from dirt and everyday impacts. The cover also provides added safety by preventing personnel from standing in front of the valve stem. The high-viz position marker can be viewed through the toughened-glass window slots. In order to facilitate installation across the myriad of Xmas tree valve designs v-Trakka is available in two variants. Model VT1 for continuous direct valve position measurement on valves that have a central stem and Model VT2 for applications involving top side trees that use the indicator window design. ABLE Instruments presents the ABLE v-Trakka Christmas Tree Valve Position Transmitter. Secured directly to the valve collar and strong enough to withstand a scaffold pole knock, the v-Trakka also has a 316 stainless steel quick fit cover with viewing windows. It is very easy to fit and simple to set up and provides protection from muck, physical damage and worker injury (by being in front of valve-stem).
The v-Trakka is a compact, lightweight mechanical instrument suitable for installation in the harsh well environment. The 316 st/ st cover and rigid base provides significant protection from dirt and everyday impacts. The cover also provides added safety by preventing personnel from standing in front of the valve stem. The high-viz position marker can be viewed through the toughened-glass window slots.
Apache continue to standardise on the v-Trakka across their various assets with several hundred now installed across the Beryl and Forties fields.
To compensate for this, an alternative method has been to infer the position of the valve by trending the pressure in the hydraulic lines. However, accuracy of the pressure measurement versus valve position is poor, as is reliability, due to transmitter blockages that require maintenance. Features: