【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】The first 1,500-meter-class vertical pipeline underwater connector with metal sealing has been certified for use from 2972 to 2026

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This post was last edited by HaiChuanLaoYu on 2026-1-14 at 07:21. Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary thread – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Recently, the first set of 1500-meter-class vertical pipeline underwater connectors, developed jointly by CNOOC Engineering and CNOOC Shenzhen Branch, have passed the metal sealing certification tests, with their performance reaching international advanced levels. This indicates that CNOOC has fully mastered the core technologies related to the design, manufacturing, and testing of metal-sealing structures for vertical clamp connectors, which is of great significance for improving the level of autonomy in the development of core equipment for deep-water oil and gas exploration. Underwater connectors are key connection components in underwater production systems; they enable the connection of spools to manifolds, production trees, pipeline endpoints (PLETs), and other facilities, and they represent one of the essential pieces of equipment for exploring deep-water oil and gas resources. As the core barrier to ensuring the safety of deep-water oil and gas transportation, the metals used in pipeline connectors must endure various severe stresses over the long term, including high internal and external pressures as well as changes in extreme temperature conditions. The underwater connector certified this time is a 1500-meter-grade, 8-inch vertical clamp connector with a design pressure of 10,000 psi, which is equivalent to three heavy trucks standing on an area the size of a fingernail. The temperature range covers -46°C to 121°C, the product performance grade is PR2, and the specification grade is PSL3G. During the certification process, the project team adhered strictly to the standard specifications, completing a total of 200 pressure cycles, 3 cycles under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, as well as 200 pressure cycles simulating seawater conditions. The entire testing process was supervised by the authoritative third-party classification society DNV, and all key performance indicators met international advanced standards. During the development of underwater connectors, CNOOC Shenzhen Branch and CNOOC Engineering collaborated to address various challenges. By taking into account the actual requirements of oil and gas fields, they created high-precision simulation models to estimate the contact area, stress distribution, and sealing performance under different parameter combinations. This approach enabled them to overcome numerous technical hurdles, including those related to metal sealing design under high temperature and pressure conditions as well as high-reliability metal sealing manufacturing techniques. As a result, domestic underwater connectors were able to gain access to deep-water environments at depths of 1,500 meters.