Design Investigation of Extreme High Pressure, High Temperature (XHPHT), Subsurface Safety Valves (SSSV) Graduate Student Design Project

07121-DW1603C

Performers
Rice University, Houston, TX 77251

Abstract

The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), Technical Focus Area 4 – Step-Change Technology seeks novel technologies which may result in improved ultra-deepwater production systems. Sub-Surface Safety Valves (SSSV) are a technology that must have a step change in capabilities for extreme high pressure, high temperature (XHPHT) discoveries to become safely producible. Even in the current (15 ksi pressure) environments the major producers have concerns about structural safety, and fluid structure interactions. At the new 30 ksi pressures, and higher temperatures, an incremental change in current designs will likely not be sufficient. New approaches to SSSV design, through a graduate level task design can only help in developing the XHPHT resources.

Principal Investigator: Ed Akin