ADIPEC 2024: Vallourec connection externally gas-tight in North Sea application

Vallourec will participate in a technical presentation during the ADIPEC conference this week, discussing technological advancements tailored to the hydrogen sector in collaboration with Gasunie.

The "OCTG Connections Test Protocol for Underground Hydrogen Storage" presentation is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7.

Vallourec also is highlighting a range of technologies that support the energy transition.

In addition, the company will provide presentations on its connections, including samples of VAM 21 and VAM HTTC, engineered to endure the most challenging conditions in both offshore and onshore drilling operations, as well as dedicated connections to support the development of unconventional applications.

In June, Vallourec signed a two-year extension to a contract signed in 2019 to provide ADNOC with tubes and connections for offshore and onshore oil and gas fields in Abu Dhabi. The extension takes effect in January 2025 and will run through January 2027.

Case study

In the North Sea’s turbulent offshore environment, TotalEnergies needed a connection that would deliver reliability for its project. Vallourec proposed its VAM SLIJ-3 semi-flush connection, designed to tolerate critical loads for offshore use.

Looking to expand and improve operations in the North Sea, TotalEnergies prepared for further rigorous conditions in the offshore region. Faced with temperatures of up to 215 C, the company also saw the possibility of mud permeating the formation during the drilling phase of the well. This permeation results in gas leakage from the formation. Vallourec said TotalEnergies required a gas-tight, heat-resistant connection, with robust drilling capabilities in the event of these mud losses and necessary sealability performances inside and outside of the casing.

Vallourec first introduced VAM SLIJ-3 to TotalEnergies in 2017, providing details on the new connection and its increased performance rating in comparison to their earlier model, VAM SLIJ-II.

Vallourec said VAM SLIJ-3 is a semi-flush premium connection that was seen as a potential solution to the occurrence of mud losses during drilling.

For better performance in ultradeep offshore environments, the tool is equipped with higher torque capacity, a metal-to-metal seal for internal and external pressure resistance, and increased compression and tension capabilities.

Vallourec worked with TotalEnergies to devise a testing protocol that would simulate the demands that VAM SLIJ-3 would come up against in the North Sea. TotalEnergies needed to see that the connection would be externally gas-tight.

“The challenge here is that any external pressure test we do is never done with the medium of gas, but with fluid, which is less susceptible to leakage than gas,” said Mark Byrne, Vallourec's technical sales manager.

The research and development (R&D) team at the Vallourec Research Center in Aulnoye-Aymeries, France, collaborated with TotalEnergies to create a test specifically encompassing these variables. Two steps of the test took place within the R&D facility: one at 195 C and the other at 215 C.

VAM SLIJ-3 successfully met the requirements of the testing protocol.

The partners successfully completed first delivery in the North Sea.

The connection has since been applied in other regions, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where more than 45,000 joints have been successfully installed.