Turkey’s 600mi Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline is owned and operated by Turkey’s state-owned crude oil and natural gas company, Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation. Along the route of the pipeline there are a number of pressure control valves, operated by thirty year old electro-hydraulic actuators that are now obsolete and spare parts are no longer available. Rotork’s agent in Turkey, Omas Teknik Pazarlama Temsileilik, has been in lengthy and detailed discussions with Botas about upgrading these valves with Rotork Skilmatic electro-hydraulic actuators. Botas has decided to trial the Rotork Skilmatic electro-hydraulic technology on one of the pipeline valves. The 30 inch Class 600 control valve was first disconnected from the pipeline, shipped to the Botas workshop at Ceyhan and measured up for new adaptation, which was manufactured by Rotork and delivered to the workshop with the new actuator. The actuator was fitted to the valve by engineers and technicians from Omas and then installed on the pipeline at the Mardin-Midyat P34 pump station, where staff from Omas also carried out the commissioning. If the new installation lives up to the customer’s expectations, Rotork Skilmatic electro-hydraulic actuators will be ordered to replace the obsolete actuators on twenty similar pipeline valves. In addition to supplying the new actuator, Rotork Fluid Systems has also provided training for Botas staff, whilst Omas has provided training and local support for the Botas operators at the pump station.
