In a move that further solidifies CCI’s presence as a major supplier of solutions to American West cost oil pipeline concerns, the company was able to help regulate and improve flow conditions at a major pipeline supplier of crude oil in Southern California.

A major oil refinery station is responsible for safely transporting crude oil via pipelines to refineries throughout the state.

The customer complained that Masoneilan-supplied valves, on average lasted less than a year in service and also caused the plant operator to lose control on the low end.

CCI investigated and disassembled the stainless steel cage-guided trim on one of the valves. It was discovered both the cage and the plug were severely eroded at the low end.

Upon analysis of the flow conditions, and using ISA guidelines, it was recommended that a minimum of six stages was needed to control the erosive velocities of crude oil. In addition, CCI recommended that the trim be made of Inconel 718 to tackle the small amount of particulates in the fluid.

CCI ended up supplying the customer with five valves.

Although CCI's DRAG® valve was the more expensive solution for this customer, the high quality and dependability that CCI provides will improve the facility's operation and result in long-term savings.

This CCI solution benefits the customer in that continuous operation of its pumps will steadily supply crude oil to the various refineries in California . Further, the station can operate for longer periods of time without having to make frequent, unscheduled maintenance stops.

This is the second incident of CCI coming to the rescue of this particular customer for a pipeline-application solution. Earlier, this customer was experiencing on-going vibration issues at one of its California facilities. At that time, an independent valve service company hired to address the vibration problem, recommended CCI based on its knowledge of CCI's dependable solutions.

CCI custom designed the customer's valve trim to handle the valve's full range of operations which included working with a variety of fluid viscosities. The customer's pipeline manager at the facility remarked that [the CCI valve] "eliminated most or all of the noise and vibration for the first time in 15 to 20 years," while still providing crude oil to a refinery in Northern California.

Based on CCI's past successes with this customer, CCI is increasing its valve base business in California and this particular customer will be called on as a reference to "sell" valves to other customers.

Published in Solutions Oil & Gas 2005