Valve integrity during flow back: ADNOC drilling, Abu Dhabi

The valve and its duty

During drilling flow back, manifold valves control returning well fluids under demanding duty.

ADNOC faced leaks, maintenance costs and non-production time during drilling flow back stages.

These stages load valves with fluids and solids that steady production seldom sees.

A leaking manifold valve turns routine flow back work into lost production time.

Site conditions

Extreme heat and sand ingress often damaged valve parts during Middle East operations.

Sand works into seats and sealing faces, while heat ages soft components faster.

Sand reaches stems and glands as well as the seats inside the valve.

Valves in this service therefore fail earlier than the same designs in mild duty.

Any product for this duty must survive both heat and abrasive contamination.

The intervention

1. High Performance Valve Sealant was tested in the worst flow back manifold valves.
2. The trial aimed to restore valve integrity during flow back in harsh operating conditions.
3. Starting with the worst valves gave the product its hardest possible field test.

A trial on selected problem valves is screening evidence, read against each valve's response.

Success in the worst valves says more than success in easy ones.

A failed trial would have cost ADNOC nothing but the trial itself.

What our products did

The sealant is designed to restore a seal in place, without dismantling the valve.

The sealant restored sealing in the selected problem valves.

Restored sealing cut the leaks that had driven maintenance costs and non-production time.

The result

ADNOC adopted valve sealants as standard across operations, cutting maintenance costs and downtime.

A product that passed the worst valves earned a place in routine practice.

See the field results from more live valve work across other settings.

Explore valve products for the sealant grades used in the field.

Our guide to sand and debris in valves covers this damage mechanism.