Member Article

Sunderland industrial equipment supplier wins £160k oceaneering contract

A gas booster system developed by Haskel will play a key part in new equipment commissioned to quickly shut down subsea oilfield leaks.

The Sunderland-based company, which is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high pressure pumps and valves for the defence, energy and oil and gas sectors in more than 50 countries, worked with its Aberdeen office to win the £160k contract.

The Haskel-designed equipment is a new concept that will play an integral role in a complex unit designed and delivered by Norwegian subsidiary of Oceaneering, a global provider of engineered services and products to the oil and gas industry.

Haskel Aberdeen business development manager Jim Millar worked with his contacts in Scotland to win the contract for the company. The new system was then designed and is now being built by Haskel’s team in Sunderland.

He said: “When there is a subsea oil spill, you have to be able to shut it off very, very quickly. Oil companies have blowout preventers (BOPs) that can shut down the well on the sea bed.

“In case the BOP fails it may be possible to shut it down, using subsea accumulators, which is where the gas booster system we have designed comes in. It charges up large accumulator tanks which are then attached to the BOP.

“It uses the energy from the high pressure nitrogen to push large volumes of fluid into the BOP in order to attempt to shut down the flow of hydrocarbons.”

“This is a new design, using six pumps working in tandem to create sufficient pressure to close down the system. It is the kind of equipment that is hardly ever needed, but when it is, it is crucial.”

The Haskel-designed equipment will be shipped to Norway to be incorporated into the complete fast response unit being built by Oceaneering.

Once the first unit is completed and operational, it is hoped the system will be rolled out to major oil and gas companies globally to ensure better security worldwide.

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