Rotork CMA electric control valve actuators have delivered an efficient and reliable process control solution and eliminated venting and greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with new environmental protection legislation at remotely sited shale gas installations in the US.
Traditionally, spring diaphragm actuators powered by the produced gas have been used, but recent EPA (US Government Environmental Protection Agency) mandates now limit this process to lower fugitive emissions caused by bleed gas. A shale gas company in Louisiana was therefore looking for an affordable and efficient low power solution that could be run by solar panels to replace existing actuation equipment and control a variety of fluids at line pressures up to 413-bar (6000 psig).
Most shale wells and flow lines are unmanned and located in remote areas that are difficult and expensive to monitor. Skilled technicians must check data and perform manual shutdowns, increasing costs for the time to travel to site, identifying the problem and stopping the flow, which is not cost-effective or practical. Actuators provide an ideal solution to automate valves at the remote wells.
The key objective was to provide an efficient and reliable process control actuator which could be retrofitted on installed valves to reduce costs and downtime. Rotork’s local agent Setpoint Integrated Solutions engineered an interface to enable CML-250 actuators to be easily fitted to installed valves and improve the level of control, without venting gas and with the low power demand required for solar powered operation.
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