Oil & Gas Valve Revenues to Reach $10 Bil. In 2014

The oil and gas industry will spend just under $10 billion in 2014 for valves, according to McIlvaine Company's Industrial Valves: World Markets report.  The largest purchases will be ball valves, which will account for 30 percent of the total, with gate valves accounting for $1.8 billion of the revenues. One major use of gate valves is at the wellhead in an assembly known as the "Christmas Tree." Valve functions include directing oil and gas from the well to further processing, shutting down the well, and injection of various chemicals for well stimulation or enhanced oil recovery.  Check valves are also used for this service.

Pipeline applications include periodically spaced isolation valves for segmenting the pipeline in the event of a leak or the need for other service. These valves are typically full-ported gate or ball valves, which provide low pressure drop when fully open, tight shutoff when closed, and full porting to permit pipeline pigging.

The total investment for a 200 mcfd gas processing plant would be $150 million and would require an expenditure of $5 million for valves. Twenty percent of this investment would typically be for control, with 80 percent for on/off service.

An LNG liquefaction plant can cost $8.3 billion. The valve portion would be 1 percent or $83 million. There are a number of liquefaction projects underway in the U.S. due to the abundance of shale gas.

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