Parker Instrumentation to supply products to Kazakhstan oil project

A wide range of Parker Instrumentation products, including valves, manifolds, and fittings, have been chosen for the Kashagan oil project in Kazakhstan.

Instrumentation valves, manifolds, and tube fittings will go to the Kashagan oil project in Kazakhstan under a framework agreement with Parker Instrumentation that emphasizes environmental protection.

The agreement was awarded by Agip KCO, operator of the North Caspian Production Sharing Agreement and culminates more than two years of effort by Parker staff in the U.K., Italy, and Kazakhstan and Agip KCO personnel, working with various engineering and operator parties on specifications and supply arrangements. Partners in the North Caspian Sea production Sharing Agreement are Eni, BG, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Inpex, Shell, and Total. Eni of Italy is partnership operator. The investment made to develop the full Kashagan field is estimated at $29 billion U.S.

With environmental protection reportedly a critical factor in the project, which will operate in a sensitive ecosystem, a key factor in selecting the line was its interconnection technology that uses high-integrity compression seals instead of traditional taper threaded connections. “Kashagan is probably the most significant oil find of the last 30 years,” said Richard Roebuck, Parker’s European marketing manager. “It’s also a technically demanding project and is a showcase for engineering development investment made over several years by Parker to build an instrumentation project range that eliminates leak-prone taper-threaded connections.”

A wide range of instrumentation products, in stainless steel and exotic nickel alloys, will be required for the project, which will have offshore production and onshore processing facilities. These include ball and needle valves for controlling oil and gas flow, manifolds for connecting the pressure and flow measurement instruments, and twin-ferrule and high-pressure tube fittings for interconnecting the instrumentation system.

All manifolds will include the Parker technology, known as PTFree, which integrates A-Lok compression tube fittings. PTFree reportedly eliminates the need for taper-threaded connections and liquid or tape materials required for a good seal. The resulting connection system has fewer potential interconnections and therefore fewer leak paths.

For an “An Energy Overview of the Republic of Kazakhstan” from the U.S. Department of Energy, click here .

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com

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