Designing a Wellhead Control Panel for a 5,000 psi Surface Wellhead in the UAE

The challenge

A wellhead control panel is the safety-critical link between a well and the people operating it. It powers and controls the valves that open, close and shut in the well. Getting the design right depends on knowing exactly what the panel connects to and how it must behave.

This project did not start with a detailed specification. The client needed a control panel for a 5,000 psi surface wellhead, but the interfaces, inputs and functional requirements had not been fully defined. A design built on assumptions would have risked costly rework at fabrication or at site.

Our approach: asking the right questions first

Before starting the design, our engineers worked through each interface with the client:

• Wellhead interface: which valves the panel controls, their actuators and the hydraulic pressures they need
• Supply and utilities: available hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical supply
• Control and shutdown logic: how the panel responds to operator commands and to shutdown conditions
• Site conditions: installation location, environment, and access for operation and maintenance

The answers became a single agreed basis of design, so the client and our team were working to the same requirements.

Design and deliverables

With requirements agreed, we designed the complete hydraulic control package:

• Control and sequencing: local manual valves and gauges, plus solenoid valves and pressure switches for automated control of the SCSSV, SSV, wing valve and choke
• Emergency shutdown: an ESD function to shut in the well quickly under hazardous conditions
• Hydraulic power unit: reservoir, pumps with filtration, and motor controls
• Backup operation: a nitrogen accumulator rack for loss of electrical power, and a hand pump as a further manual backup

We delivered the P&ID covering the full hydraulic circuit, the panel design and layout, and a 3D CAD model. The model was used to check component arrangement, operator access and fit at site.

The result

The panel was built to our design and successfully installed. Clear requirements at the start meant a design the client could approve with confidence, and a system that fit its interfaces the first time.

Why it matters

Many control-system problems start with requirements, not engineering. Our team’s decades of experience with wellhead and pressure control equipment let us help clients define what they actually need, even without a full specification.