Dresser Inc., a leading manufacturer of highly-engineered products for the natural gas industry, has received its first order to supply Becker anti-surge valves to China. The 6-inch Becker FPBV-S anti-surge valves will be installed in a compressor station on China’s West-East natural gas pipeline.
Anti-surge valves perform an essential function in the protection of natural gas pipeline compressors. When a pipeline experiences an emergency shutdown due to a blockage, the anti-surge valve opens to redirect gas coming out of the compressor into a closed-loop recirculation system through which the gas flows harmlessly until operators can shut down the compressor and make necessary repairs to the pipeline.
Among the considerations in the selection of Becker anti-surge valves for this application were the valves’ durability and reliability. This is essential for an application in which the valve remains on standby for years and is called on only in an emergency when split-second operation is vital, according to Li Su, project manager for Datek Industrial Technologies Ltd., one of the companies supplying equipment for the project. Other important considerations were the Class VI “bubble tight” shutoff rating which maintains compressor efficiency while the valve is closed, and the robust valve seal design which allows the valve to respond in less than a half second.
The Becker valves will be installed at a compressor station on the Jining connection of the West-East pipeline in the Shandong province in east China. This segment of the pipeline serves the cities of Kaifeng, Shangqui, Jining, Taian and Zhengzhou. The West-East pipeline, operated by the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), is a major, ongoing infrastructure project initiated in 2002 to bring natural gas from far western China to the more heavily populated areas in the east.
“In recent years Dresser has been developing a team of Chinese nationals with the necessary expertise to apply and support Dresser’s highly engineered solutions for oil and gas pipeline infrastructure projects in China,” said Gerard Stenson, Director – Asia Pacific Sales & Operations, Dresser Infrastructure Solutions. “Becker anti-surge valves and other Dresser Natural Gas Solutions products provide China’s burgeoning gas industry with state-of-the-art solutions that assure safety and high efficiency in line with global best practice.”
