Orseal supplies valves for unique Abu Dhabi offshore oil project

Orseal, a UK-based industrial valve manufacturer, has been awarded an order to supply a range of valve products to a major $3.7 billion (€3.25bn) offshore development in the United Arab Emirates.

Located 80km off the coast, the Upper Zakum oil field project (UZ750) is considered to be one of the major technical achievements in Abu Dhabi, and oil production capacity is set to increase to 750,000 bpd once the project is completed.

With a mandate to significantly increase production at Upper Zakum, a number of options were evaluated by the Zakum Development Co. (ZADCO), who settled on the concept of artificial island-based drilling and production centres.

These centres will use innovative extended-reach drilling (ERD) and maximum reservoir contact (MRC) technology.

While both of these technologies have been applied in other parts of the world, they are new to this region and the projected scale of application at UZ750 is without precedent. 

For this high-profile project, Orseal supplied a range of valves, from ½” to 12” manual operated and pneumatic actuated carbon steel and ali-bronze (for seawater) valves, to use in the vacuum pump package for Satah al-Razboot (SARB).

Orseal carried out all inspection activities at its supplier premises to ensure that the products conformed to all end-user specifications – particularly important in this project, where space was at a premium within the skid design.

All logistics had to be precisely managed, with full contract delivery on the agreed date, and all goods were specially packaged for air freight shipment to Dubai, ensuring no damage to any items of value during transit.

With completion of UZ750 expected in 2017, the artificial island solution offers significant benefits, including a reduction in life-cycle development costs.