Members from Mid-Alaska Pipeline and Doyon Energy Services, two companies within the Doyon family of companies, recently participated in a specialized twin-seal valve rebuild training held at the Petrostar Metering Building. This hands-on session offered employees the rare opportunity to work directly with an operational valve—fully disassembling, inspecting, and rebuilding it under real field conditions. For those involved in pipeline operations and maintenance, training like this is invaluable for strengthening technical confidence and ensuring equipment reliability.
To deliver the highest quality instruction, an Emerson valve specialist was flown in from Salt Lake City to lead the class. His manufacturer-level expertise provided attendees with direct insight into valve design, common failure points, proven rebuild techniques, and effective troubleshooting methods typically learned only in factory shop environments.
During the training, the twin-seal valve was completely taken apart. Because this particular valve operates in crude service, the process was both challenging and messy—an authentic representation of real maintenance work in the field. Each component was carefully cleaned and inspected for wear and tear, giving participants a detailed understanding of how to evaluate parts and determine when replacements are necessary.
Once inspections were complete, the class rebuilt the valve from the ground up using new components. The focus was on precision and proper installation, ensuring that technicians gained hands-on familiarity with each step of the rebuild process.
The session was highly educational and significantly enhanced the team’s technical skill sets. Beyond the immediate learning value, this training empowers Mid-Alaska Pipeline to troubleshoot and repair valves in-house, reducing reliance on outside vendors and increasing our operational efficiency. It was a productive and worthwhile experience that will directly benefit our pipeline operations for years to come.
