Pipeline valves and fittings for ESPO-2 pipeline, Khabarovsk

Object

Eastern Siberia — Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, oil pump station 34

Task

ensuring ESPO-2 pipeline and equipment protection from hydraulic impacts

Solution

Eastern Siberia — Pacific Ocean oil pipeline starts from the Irkutsk region, encircles the Baikal Lake from the north and ends in Kozmina pacific bay. The total pipeline length is 4,740 km. It connects oil fields located in Western and Eastern Siberia with a refinery and a port in Nakhodka, that allows Russia to enter the markets of the USA and the Asia-Pacific region.

The length of the second pipeline section is 2,045 km. Its capacity is about 80 million tons of oil per year. The construction was started in January 2010 and completed in advance in the end of 2012.

For ESPO-2 pipeline ADL supplied Mankenberg valves designed for suppression of hydraulic impacts in pipelines caused by valves shutting-off and opening and pumps switching on/off. If the flow is stopped suddenly by closing a valve, the inertia of the fluid will cause it to continue moving in the flow direction that will result in a sharp drop in fluid pressure downstream of the valve. In an effort to restore the pressure, the liquid will swing in the opposite direction that will result in emergence of the shock wave. Such a wave may have a sufficient force to damage the pipes or one of the number of devices installed along its length. The suppression effect is achieved by bypassing the fluid flow at the time of water hammer. The valve opens immediately and provides a great throughput then slowly closes without generating fluid pressure drops.