Choke Valves

Used mostly in Oil & Gas production wells to control flow, choke valves remove pressure from the reservoir to regulate downstream pressure in the flowlines. Generally, in well applications there are two choke valves used in series, one being regulating and the other non-regulating. The regulating choke valve is generally seen downstream of the non-regulating valve.

Non-regulating choke valves are primarily used as on-off valves and are used to lower the reservoir pressure to a desired operating value. This valve type is not utilised for flow regulation purposes. Regulating flow valves are a flow control valve which is generally controlled via an electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic signal from a control panel. These valves are used to maintain steady production levels in the appropriate pipelines.

Choke valves are generally of a heavy duty design to withstand the rigours seen during wellhead operations. The design focuses on providing ease of maintenance and reliability. Commonly they are designed to API6A and utilise a wear resistant trim to ensure the longest service life possible.

Choke valves represent critical components in both the surface and subsurface wellhead assemblies. Wellheads require the reduction of pressure within the pipeline to ensure that pipeline pressure is not exceeded and that the pipeline and its components integrity remains in-tact. Along with ensuring that the pressure drop is appropriate the flow of the raw medium also needs to be controlled to ensure that production levels are met and maintained.

Because of the nature of this application the valve internals can be exposed to very harsh conditions, from being attached chemically to experiencing erosion or cavitation. As such it is vital that the correct plug and or cage is selected for the appropriate application to ensure the valve is serviceable for its full life-time.

PACs experience within the Oil & Gas industry allows us to excel in the supply of valving for extremely harsh conditions where complex combinations of materials or designs are required.