Unocal’s Monopod platform in Cook Inlet, AK. (Photo courtesy of cookinletoilandgas.org)
At Unocal’s Monopod offshore-platform in Alaska, Flowserve’s StarPac control valve delivered stability, remote control and monitoring, plus increased oil production. The valve reportedly dramatically improved oil-well performance and production in this non-traditional application with an “upset” well.
“This well was not behaving correctly,” says Unocal production engineer Justus Hinks. “[We] had heard through Flowserve that StarPacs were successfully being used elsewhere in the world to actively control gas lift flow rates and enhance well performance.”
“Most gas lift applications use manual choke valves to control lift gas to the well,” adds Hinks. “This means that most operators can only estimate the flow rates being delivered to the bottom of the well. They don’t have the ability to accurately control it.”
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— Richard Phelps, senior editor, Control Engineering [email protected]
