Oil & Gas
The BP Clair Ridge platform , located 75 km west of the Shetland Islands in the North Sea .
The Saudi Aramco Manifa field is designed to produce Arabian heavy crude oil , sour gas , and hydrocarbon condensate . the long term Russia ’ s lack of access to foreign technology is likely to hinder its operations . The decline of Russian oil & gas in the European market is bullish for producers elsewhere , and there are signs that these other regions – North America , Africa and the Middle East – are stepping up production to meet the shortfall .
North America Several offshore projects are taking shape in the US Gulf of Mexico . In September 2021 BP started up its Thunderhorse South Expansion Phase 2 project . In July 2021 Shell announced Whale , its second deep-water development in the GoM . Co-owned by Chevron , Whale is scheduled to start production in 2024 . It will feature a semi-submersible production host in more than 8,600 feet of water with 15 oil producing wells . Chevron and TotalEnergies have announced the Ballymore project , a tie-back to the Blind FPU . First oil is expected in 2025 . Beacon Offshore Energy has awarded Subsea 7 the contract four subsea wells for the Shenandoah Development .
South America The South American region is also growing significantly . There have been several discoveries offshore Guyana , where ExxonMobil is developing four projects in the Stabroek Block . In 2022 the Libra Consortium ( Petrobras , Shell , TotalEnergies , CNPC and CNOOC ) launched phase 4 of the giant Mero pre-salt project in the Libra Block , and started production at the Mero field phase 1 from the FPSO Guanabara . Petrobras is seeking to install a high-pressure separation unit to reinject CO2-bearing gas into the field . The Atlanta field in the Santos Basin is also to acquire an FPSO from Yinson Holdings .
Middle East Production is likely to rise also in the Middle East , where Saudi Aramco has announced a
Africa In Angola , BP and Eni are merging their activities in a new company , Azule . New projects include the new Agogo and PAJ oil projects . It will also develop the New Gas Consortium ( NGC ), the first non-associated gas project in the country . Eni has also signed an agreement with Algeria ’ s Sonatrach to develop gas fields and decarbonization via green hydrogen , and one to allow Eni to increase the quantities of gas imported through the TransMed pipeline connecting Algeria to Italy . Eni has also signed agreements in Egypt and the Republic of Congo to boost gas production .
BP ’ s onshore compression station in Trinidad .
Subsea valves
Valves are a critical element in subsea systems because of the high pressures and temperatures . Because of the depth and remoteness of the installations , any intervention costs a great deal of time , effort and money , so it is essential to get things right at the outset . Valves are expected to last for the duration of a project , typically over 25 years . Subsea valves are used in pipelines , manifolds , line tees , flooding isolation and on semisubmersible buoys and turrets . Ball valves , generally the piggable type , are used in subsea pipelines . Through conduit slab and double expanding gate valves are used in manifolds or pipelines where liquids , gas and sand mingle . Check valves ( piggable ) are used in subsea pipelines . Materials used include carbon steels , aluminium-bronze , low alloy steel , stainless steel ( austenitics , duplex and super duplex ), titanium and nickel alloys . www . valve-world . net Valve World August 2022
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