Engineering Technology Assessment Center (ETAC) REDACTED FOR PUBLIC USE August 2016 Blowout Preventer Control System Reliability Primarily Focused on Subplate Mounted (SPM) Valves Prepared by Roy Lindley Edited by David McCalvin BSEE Engineering Technology Assessment Center (ETAC) About the Author Roy Lindley is a mechanical engineer and a national security program manager at Argonne National Laboratory. Lindley has over 32 years of experience in conducting and managing engineering programs including multi-discipline evaluations for major U.S. DOE projects on electric utility applications, and various energy conversion technologies. He has a varied technical scope that includes pressure vessels, structural and seismic support design, data acquisition, and code compliance analysis. Lindley is also a security expert that does laboratory testing of security systems and design recommendations. Disclaimer This report was prepared by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) under contract to the Department of Energy (DOE) through an inter-agency agreement between the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the DOE. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in the report are those of the authors and they do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of BSEE. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor UChicago Argonne, LLC, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, Argonne National Laboratory, or UChicago Argonne, LLC ii | Blowout Preventer Control System Reliability August, 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page About the Author ..................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................iv ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................................. v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL APPROACH ............................................................. 3 2.0 OVERVIEW OF SPM-BASED BOP CONTROL .................................................................. 5 2.1 BOP-Controlled Well Barriers .............................................................................................. 5 2.2 Typical Subsea Control Hardware ....................................................................................... 6 3.0 API STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO BOP EQUIPMENT ................................................... 8 3.1 Discussion of API Specification 16D .................................................................................... 8 3.1.1 General Description of Specification Requirements ...................................................... 8 3.1.2 SPM Cyclic Design Basis ............................................................................................. 9 3.1.3 SPM System Design Configuration Control .................................................................. 9 3.2 Discussion of API Standard 53 ...........................................................................................10 4.0 CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE A MAJOR BOP DOWNTIME CONTRIBUTOR ......................11 4.1 Prominent Reliability Studies ..............................................................................................11 4.2 Industry’s Reliability Culture ...............................................................................................13 4.3 Key Industry Reliability-Focused Collaborations .................................................................15 4.3.3 Software Tools ............................................................................................................16 5.0 MANY SPMS ARE MANUFACTURED COMMODITIES ....................................................17 5.1 SPM Supply Chain and Marketplace ..................................................................................17 5.2 SPM Design Improvement and Service Parts Approaches .................................................18 5.3 SPM Operational Influences ...............................................................................................19 5.4 SPM Manufacturer Product Quality Enhancements ............................................................20 5.5 SPM Manufacturer Support ................................................................................................21 5.6 SPM Supplier Maintenance Recommendations .................................................................22 5.7 SPM In-Service Maintenance Realities ..............................................................................23 5.8 Commodity Supplier and Service Reliability Initiatives .......................................................25 6.0 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................26 6.1 Systems Reliability Targets .................................................................................................26 6.2 Offshore Rebuilding of SPMs .............................................................................................27 6.3 Hydraulic Fluid Quality ........................................................................................................27 6.4 API Standard 16D and 53 Reliability-Related Issues ..........................................................28 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................29 8.0 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................30 Appendix A: Brief History of Subsea BOP Development ...........................................................32 Appendix B: Overview of Current Subsea BOP Control Systems ..............................................33 Blowout Preventer Control System Reliability | iii BSEE Engineering Technology Assessment Center (ETAC) Surface-Supplied Pilot Signal Systems .................................................................................33 MUX Systems .......................................................................................................................34 Appendix C: Hydraulic Basics and SPM Functional Analogy .....................................................36 Appendix D: SPMs Are Key to Critical BOP Safety Functions ...................................................37 Appendix E: Typical SPM Design ..............................................................................................39 Appendix F: SPM Hydraulic Fluid Properties .............................................................................40 Appendix G: Most Mentioned BOP Operational Issues .............................................................42 Appendix H: BOP OEM Monitoring Systems .............................................................................45 Appendix I: Figure Credits .........................................................................................................47 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Example of SPM Valve Vertical Mounting on Horizontal Plate .................................... 6 Figure 2: Example of SPMs Mounted Horizontally within a Control Pod ..................................... 6 Figure 3: Typical SPM Internal Parts Removed from Valve Body ............................................... 7 Figure B- 1: Functional Schematic of Surface Pilot-Operated BOP System ..............................33 Figure B- 2: Functional Schematic of Basic Multiplex BOP Control System (yellow and blue control pods are represented as active and redundant) .....................................................34 Figure C- 1: Basic Double Acting Hydraulic System ..................................................................36 Figure E- 1: Cross Section of a Typical SPM Valve ...................................................................39 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Reliability Studies Consolidated Data ..........................................................................11 Table 2: Overview of BOP Failures by Subsystem ....................................................................12 Table F- 1: Typical Recommended BOP Hydraulic Fluid Particulate Limits ...............................40 iv