Shaybah Oil Field is a super-giant oil field in Saudi Arabia and is located in the northern edge of the Rub’ Aa-Khali desert. It is operated by Saudi Aramco and produces in excess of 500,000 barrels per day. With such a huge field and so many wells in this harsh environment, valve maintenance and achieving a zero leak rate when the valves are shut is absolutely critical.
Sealing Severely Leaking Gate Valves – Saudi Aramco, Shaybah Oil Field
The Problem
Saudi Aramco highlighted that the Master Valve on well SHYB-398 had been badly leaking with an average of 1050 psi in less than one minute in the fully closed position. The wing valve was also leaking at a rate of 500psi per minute. Due to the leaks a trial was set up to use RS Clare Valve Sealant 701 to see if it made a difference and could help minimise or even stop the leakage.
The Solution
Representatives from Saudi Aramco Well Services Department and Greasing Unit along with RS Clare met in late December 2016 and drove to the SHYB-398 well to carry out the trial. 10Kg of RS Clare Valve Sealant 701 was injected into the cavity of the Master valve using Saudi Aramco pumps. Pressure was built up and held for 10 minutes and they achieved a zero leak rate. The Wing Valve was then injected with 8Kg of Valve Sealant 701 with the same result, a zero leak rate after holding pressure for 10 minutes.
The team also achieved similar success with well SHYB152, once both valves were filled with RS Clare Valve Sealant 701 the leaks stopped and full valve integrity was re-established.
After all other attempts to seal the valves had failed, Valve Sealant 701 proved why it is considered by many to be the most effective valve sealant on the market. The Saudi Aramco Engineers were extremely happy with this result and now have Valve Sealant 701 as part of their emergency isolation routine.
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