Baker Hughes’ DeepShield valve meets new Gulf of Mexico regulations to help protect the environment and offshore personnel. Baker Hughes declared the commercial release of its DeepShield™ deepwater safety valve, the industry’s first V1-validated subsurface safety valve tested to ensure fail-safe operations as defined in the new API Spec 14A. The DeepShield valve is designed to close if well control is lost, even in the presence of debris build-up, establishing a reliable safety barrier to help minimize the likelihood of reservoir fluids escaping up the wellbore and any resulting health, safety and environmental impacts.
The DeepShield valve features a patented, redundant operating system that allows the valve to function at extreme depths and pressures. Unlike conventional valves, the valve can be held open at lower pressures, reducing infrastructure costs required to maintain higher well bore pressures during operations.
The American Petroleum Institute declared the Twelfth Edition of API Specification 14A, Subsurface Safety Valve Equipment, in February 2015 with an effective date of 15 January 2016.The DeepShield subsurface safety valve is the latest example of Baker Hughes’ strategy to improve well efficiency, optimize production, and increase ultimate recovery.
