Process Plant Consultancy Engineers

HYDERABAD

WELCOME

To
PPCE- Presentation on

Prevention/ Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion

through
Best Design and Operation procedures
By

Bala B Panuganti (PPCE), Satyapal S (GM East Oper-ONGC), Ranga N (PPCE), Sumanum S Murthy (PPCE), MKE Prasad (PPCE)
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion

• Introduction

• Oil, Water and Gas Produced from Oil wells are transported to Collection and
Processing Center. These pipelines have to withstand most corrosive conditions.

• The total length of pipelines in the world is about 3.5 million km.

• In 2014: US 65%, Russia 8%, Canada had 3%, thus 75% of the world pipeline are in
these three countries.

• Subsea pipelines all over the world about 200,000 Kilometers

• Pipeline costs are a major component of investment and operating costs of Oil and
Gas industry. The cost of corrosion inhibitor injection is quite high.

• This paper covers corrosion aspects. Pipe line construction & inspection are already
covered by other specialists.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion

• Overview of Corrosion Consideration in Pipeline Design.

• Pipelines transporting oil and gas from oil wells to collection and processing center
must withstand extreme pressures (Rating of 2000 to 15000 psi)

• Corrosion of the pipelines that transport the separated and treated Oil and Gas to the
Refineries and Gas processing units is less severe

• The total length of pipelines in the world is about 3.5 million km.

• In 2014: US 65%, Russia 8%, Canada had 3%, thus 75% of the world pipeline are in
these three countries.

• Subsea pipelines all over the world about 200,000 Kilometers

• Pipeline costs are a major component of investment and operating costs of Oil and
Gas industry.
 Corrosion Considerations in Pipeline Design
• Scope of Presentation

– Composition of transported fluids, causes of corrosion and prevention of

failure of pipelines
– Corrosion caused by CO2 and H2S and various corrosion mechanisms.
– Materials suitable for different services and the developments are
highlighted.
– Design Lifetime of pipelines
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Pipeline Material Selection and corrosion considerations
• Corrosion in Pipelines depends on fluid velocity, chemical composition,
pressure and temperature
• End of life well fluid compositions (worst conditions) and flow
conditions shall be predicted and addressed during design
• Corrosion due to external environment requires appropriate coatings
and paintings
• Availability of corrosion protection techniques and the maintenance
costs have to be considered in material section .
• Constructability of the pipeline materials
• Mechanical strength to withstand impacts during construction and
stresses from temperature and pressure changes.
• Costs of pipeline installation and operation.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Considerations in Design of Pipeline Systems
• Installation, safety and maintenance requirements;
– Environment Protection
– Terrain considerations (Zone 1 and Zone 2) and suitability for periodical
pigging
– Minimizing/Avoiding stresses construction and operation stages
– Free span analysis for subsea pipelines
– Riser design to protect against corrosion and erosion
– Design for protection against surge pressures
– Hydrate formation possibilities and prevention requirements during startup
and shut down.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion

• Installation, Safety and Maintenance Requirements;

– Protection of surrounding Environment especially for pipelines
passing through residential areas.
– Terrain considerations and suitability for periodical pigging
– Avoiding / minimizing stresses
– Free span analysis for subsea pipelines
– Riser design to protect against corrosion and erosion
– Design for protection against surge pressures
– Hydrate formation possibilities and prevention requirements during
startup and shut down.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Oil and Gas Composition

• Oil and Gas lines; Fluid Compositions

Oil 10 to 100% (vol%) Oil lines Oil is considered as non

<10% gas lines corrosive, protects pipeline
surface
Produce Water 0 to 90%, corrosive in Causes corrosion in presence
presence of Oxygen of H2S and CO2
Gas 0 to 100% may corrosive In presence of Produced
components H2S and CO2 Water the corrosive gas can
severely corrode the pipelines
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Corrosion Mechanisms

• Corrosion is Defined as
Conversion of the pipe materials into non-metallic products, which have no strength. Corrosion
products are basically metal oxides or compounds of metals with non-metals like Sulfur,
Chlorides, and Fluorides.

• CO2 Corrosion

• Presence of water in the oil or gas is the main cause of CO2 corrosion of CS pipelines.
 For water free oil or gas containing CO2 the corrosion rate is negligible.
 Corrosion rate increases with increased concentration of CO2

• The overall electrochemical reaction of CO2 corrosion

• Fe(s) + CO2 (sol) + H2O (l) → FeCO3 (sol) + H2 (g), where FeCO3 further reacts to precipitate
•
FeCO3 (sol) + CO3-(sol) → Fe (CO3)2(s)

• The solid products of corrosion are deposited as a scale that forms a protective layer and
decrease corrosion rate.
• Generally the Fe (CO3)2 scale in not stable and it is not strongly bonded and comes out at high
velocities.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Corrosion Mechanisms

• H2S Corrosion

• H2S corrosion occurs by two mechanisms;

 Biological conversion of H2S to Sulfuric acid, which causes the acidic

corrosion on the pipelines
 Direct reaction of H2S with the metal, the overall reaction of H2S with Fe is
given by
Fe (s) + H2 S FeS (s) + H2

• At lower partial pressures of H2S (say less than 1 bar) and at pH >6, FeS
forms stable scale on the pipeline material and protects the pipeline from
corrosion.
 Corrosion Considerations in Pipeline Design
Other Corrosion Mechanisms

 Effect of pH on H2S Corrosion

• The structure and stability of the scale depends on the pH of the liquid. At
low pH of less than 5 stable FeS deposition does not occur, only at pH
above 6 the FeS starts depositing as stable scale on the surface of the
metal.
• Dissolved CO2 in the well fluid forms carbonic acid and decreases the pH of
the fluid.
• The corrosion rate is high if both CO2 and H2S are present in high
concentrations.

 Effect of H2S Concentration

• At higher concentration of H2S, the scale formed is amorphous/ loose,

and the deposition will not be able protect the metal surface.
 Corrosion Considerations in Pipeline Design
Other Corrosion Mechanisms

 Effect of Pressure and temperature

• H2S corrosion rate mainly depends on the partial pressure of H2S. NACE
MR 0175 describes the effect of partial pressure of H2S in detail. The rate
of H2S corrosion increases with increased partial pressure of H2S. Change
in temperature has almost no effect on the rate of H2S corrosion

 Effect of water content in oil and Gas

• For oil lines with negligible water content less than 0.5% there is almost no
corrosion and the requirement of corrosion inhibitor injection is minimal.

• Corrosion in dry gas system is negligible; the gas shall be dried completely
before it enters into the pipelines.
 Corrosion Considerations in Pipeline Design
Other Corrosion Mechanisms

• Sulfide Stress Cracking (SSC)

• The atomic hydrogen formed in the FeS + H2S reaction can penetrate the metal and
cause hydrogen embrittlement, which is susceptible to cracking.

• For this service materials with NACE MR 0175 are specified, the final brinell
hardness shall be below 260.

• Hydrogen Induced Cracking (HIC)

• Maximum hardness shall not exceed 325 (brinell hardness) at any part of the
welding to avoid HCC.

• Crevice Corrosion

– Crevice corrosion is caused by Chloride ions in presence of Oxygen. Not

significant for oil and gas service due to absence of O2
– For water injection lines it is eliminated by de-aeration.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Other Corrosion Mechanisms

• Pitting corrosion

 Pitting corrosion occurs in stagnant areas and causes holes. Caused by the
presence of Chloride, bromide or hypochlorite ions.
 Enhanced by the presence of H2S and sulfides. It affects other materials
like chromium, aluminum, cobalt, copper and their alloys.
 Once the pitting corrosion attack has started, the material is completely
penetrated in a short time.

• Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)

• Stress corrosion is caused by the combined action of the corrosive

medium, which causes initiation and progress of cracks. To prevent SCC
the pipeline design shall allow adequate flexibility through expansion
loops etc.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
External Corrosion
1 Chloride Stress Corrosion

• Under tensile stresses in the pipeline the chlorides of seawater can cause CLSCC
(Chloride stress corrosion cracking) of the pipelines.
• Alloy steels or extra high strength steels above 500 mpa shall be specified for high
temperature services above 70 oC for Chloride containing services.

2. Corrosion by biological growth

• Corrosion caused by the growth of colonies of biological organisms on metal surface

through metabolic processes.
• Bacteria, which cause corrosion, include sulfate reducing bacteria, SRB, Iron bacteria
IB, acid producing bacteria APB.
• Presence of dissolved oxygen enhances corrosion by biological organisms.
• Anaerobic biological degradation of metals is also possible at a slower rate.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion External
Corrosion
3 Electrolytic/ Galvanic Corrosion

– Electrolytic corrosion and

– Galvanic corrosion
– Potential differential between two different soils, which cause increased corrosion
in one sector (in wet soil) for pipelines passing through

• Cathodic protection is applied to prevent this type of corrosion

 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Pipeline Materials

• C-Mn steels and fine grain treated steels (High Strength steels) with low alloy
steels having specified minimum strength of 500Mpa and consumables for
welding. i.e. X-52, X-60,X-65 and X-70 Grades.

• Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA) cladded piping for extremely corrosive conditions

• PVC, HDPE, GRE materials for low pressure applications.

• Flexible multi layer pipelines up to very high pressures

 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Protection from Corrosion
• Prevention of corrosion is achieved through
– Selection of materials,
– protective coatings and
– addition of chemicals that inhibit corrosion.

• Corrosion allowance CA is provided to take care of residual corrosion during life of the pipelines.

• Protection from External Corrosion

• Corrosion of external surface of CS pipelines is achieved by appropriate method of paining and

coating.
• SS pipelines also require painting for protection from Chloride containing environment
• Required properties of the coating materials
• Adhesion or resistance to disbonding
• Durability or resistance to chemical , physical and biological deterioration
• Service Temperature range
• Tensile elongation or flexibility
• Impact resistance
• Compatibility with concrete coating
• Shear strength
• Tensile strength
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Protection from Corrosion
1 Protective Liquid Coatings on Pipelines

• Bituminous enamels based on coal tar and asphalt enamels, Asphalt mastic
• Liquid epoxies and phenolic paints
• Fusion bonded Epoxy Coatings (FBE), which are heat activated and chemically cured paintings.
• Commonly used external protection includes 3 layers of Poly ethylene (3LPE) and three layers of
polypropylene (3LPP)/ poly olefin coatings.
• Rubber lining for risers

2 Concrete Coating/ Weight Coating for subsea pipelines

• Concrete coating is applied as weight coating for subsea pipelines. The properties of the concrete
mixture coating shall meet applicable standards.

3 Insulation coating on pipelines

• Thermal conductivity
• Density
• Adhesion to base material
• Abrasion resistance
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Protection from Corrosion

4 Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors (VCI)

• These inhibitors when applied will generate a vapor barrier that prevents diffusion of corrosive
chemicals to the surface of the metal.

5 Field Joint Coating

• Heat shrinkable sleeves are the preferred technology for the corrosion protection of field joints.
Heat is applied by a heating torch (gas heating) to shrink the wrap/ paint sleeves. The adhesive
flows to the metal surface and upon cooling solidify to make a strong bond with the metal.

6 Cathodic Protection
• A sacrificial anode is connected to make the pipeline (or structure) as the cathode. The sacrificial
anode gets corroded (consumed) instead of the pipeline.

• For long pipelines a DC current (Impressed Current) is applied as the consumption of anodic
materials will be very high.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Protection from Corrosion

• Internal Corrosion Protection

– Interface Inhibitors, decrease velocity of diffusion of corrosive chemicals

– Electrolyte layer inhibition. This layer protects the metal surface from corrosion products
– Application of corrosion inhibitors
– Corrosion allowance
– Internal coating
– Application of corrosion resistance alloys or lining

• Proprietary Corrosion Inhibitors for Oil and Gas system

• Almost all corrosion inhibitors are proprietary type. Corrosion inhibitor supplier selects the corrosion
inhibitor and decides the dosing rate.

• Steps to minimize cost of corrosion consumption of inhibitors

• In the upstream section, use of alloy cladded pipeline to save huge cost of corrosion inhibitors
• Separation of water on the well head platforms will lower the cost of pipeline and cost of corrosion
inhibitor injection.
• Water shall be almost completely removed on the offshore and onshore processing complexes which are
at nearest distance to the oil wells.
 Prevention/Minimizing Pipeline Corrosion
Conclusion/ Recommendations

• Pipeline corrosion studies are essential at conceptual and basic design stage for oil
and gas systems, to prevent accidents and to optimize investments.

• Economics of CRA cladded pipes to minimize corrosion inhibitor injection costs

shall be considered

• Cost of injection of Corrosive chemicals through out life of pipelines shall be

evaluated during design stage.

• High pressure Flexible pipe is expected to offer competitive solutions in future.

New pipeline systems with flexible pipelines have to be developed indigenously

• It is desirable that public institutions and private enterprises promote research

and develop insulation, coating and corrosion inhibitor materials.

• Intelligent Pigging requires research in Indian institutions.