DESIGN OF OFFSHORE PIPELINES

Materials

Presentation Reference Number Here

LINEPIPE MATERIALS

Steel

Carbon Steel
Cost - A$ 1000 - 1500 per tonne
Standard length is 12.2m joints (40 ft)
Main types of line pipe

Electrical Resistance Welded (ERW)

Submerged Arc Welded (SAW)
Seamless
Spiral welded

Linepipe Manufacturing ERW

Linepipe Manufacturing UOE SAW

Carbon Steel Linepipe

Design conditions
Maximum / minimum pressure
Maximum / minimum
temperature
Fabrication requirements
Corrosivity of produced fluids
Design Life

Required Properties

Line pipe size

Strength
Toughness
Weldability
Corrosion Resistance

Line Pipe Properties

Line Pipe Material Properties

Toughness
Ductile fracture resistance (mainly
gas lines)
Brittle fracture resistance (low
temperature lines)
Test methods
Charpy tests (small scale)
CTOD (small scale)
Drop Weight Tear Tests (large
scale)

Fittings
Pipeline Fittings

Includes; valves, flanges, bends, tees, etc

Similar materials selection issues apply
Should have compatible strength to line pipe
Non-flanged components should be weldable
Valve materials should be selected to ensure integrity of
seals and compatibility

Low Temperature Services

Toughness extremely important (eg Artic service) or
close to wells with significant Joule Thompson cooling.
Brittle fracture is potentially catastrophic
Transition temperature for material should be low
For <-60C 1-3% Nickel Steels may be required

Liberty ships

Corrosion Resistant Line Pipe Material

Corrosion resistant in certain environments
Solid or clad / lined corrosion resistant line pipe

13% Cr (weldable grades)

Duplex stainless steel
Super austenitic stainless steel
Others (titanium, etc)
(flexibles)

Flexible Pipe
1. Interlocked steel carcass resists to
hydrostatic pressure, to radial
compression during installation and
supports the inner thermoplastic sheath. It
is generally manufactured with stainless
steel AISI 304 or 316.

2. Inner thermoplastic sheath promotes

sealing, preventing internal fluids (oil, gas
or water) from permeating to the external
layers. It is manufactured with nylon or a
similar material.

4
3
2
1

3. Interlocked steel pressure layer: resists

to internal and to hydrostatic pressure
and to radial compression. It is usually
manufactured with carbon steel.
4. Double crosswound tensile armours:
resist to axial forces, to internal pressure
and to torsion.
5. External thermoplastic sheath: protects
the internal layers against external
agents, like corrosion and abrasion, to
maintain the double crosswound tensile
armours tied and assure the sealing. It is
usually manufactured with a polymer, like
nylon.

Good for short lengths / small to medium diameters.

Avoid metrology
Corrosion resistant
Significantly more expensive than steel for long
lengths
Static or dynamic

WELDING

Pipeline Welding

Common Types
Submerged arc welding, SAW (double jointing);
Shielded metal arc welding, SMAW (using cellulosic or low hydrogen
basic electrodes);
Gas metal arc welding, GMAW.
Varying bevel preparations.
Productivity generally very important.
Quality also very important.

Pipeline Welding

Welding may be manual, mechanised or semi-automatic.

Weld inspection by AUT or X-ray
Acceptance criteria based on workmanship or ECA.

Welding CRAs
Welding of CRAs
Carbon steel welding methods can be used
Welding rates will be less than carbon steel (2-5 times
less)
Welding costs will be significantly higher
Different welding techniques may be required
Inert gas purge on root
Control of heat input very important

PIPELINE CORROSION

Corrosion Risk
North Sea experience
22% of incidents are caused by corrosion
40% of these resulted in LOC (loss of containment)
80% of LOC incidents caused by internal corrosion

Australian experience
External corrosion in riser splash zones poor coating
performance and inspection practices
SRB related internal corrosion - untreated hydrotest
water and/or infected well fluids
Varanus Island explosion believed to be a result of
pipeline corrosion.

Topics
Internal and External Corrosion
Types of Corrosion
Sweet
Sour
Microbial Induced Corrosion

Corrosion Prevention
Inhibition
Coatings
Cathodic Protection

Corrosion Monitoring

The Corrosion Process

All corrosion processes are electrochemical in nature, and in general require a metallic
surface in contact with an electrolyte (water). Involve anodic and cathodic reactions.
Anodic reaction involves the dissolution of metal into the electrolyte as positively charged
ions.
Electrons remaining in the metal lattice migrate to the cathode and are discharged,
reacting with oxygen and/or hydrogen ions.

Anodic reaction:
M Mn+ + neM stands for a metal and n stands for the number of electrons
that an atom of the metal will easily release, i.e. for iron and
steel: Fe Fe2+ + 2eCathodic reactions:
O2 + 4 H+ + 4e- 2H2O (oxygen reduction in acidic solution)
1/2 O2 + H2O + 2e- 2 OH- (oxygen reduction in neutral or
basic solution)
+
2 H + 2e H2 (hydrogen evolution from acidic solution)
2 H2O + 2e- H2 + 2 OH- (hydrogen evolution from neutral
water)

Sweet Corrosion
Carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion results when CO2 dissolves in water to
form carbonic acid (H2CO3). The acid lowers the pH and sufficient quantities
will promote general corrosion and/or pitting corrosion of carbon steel.
Corrosion rates depend on:
Partial pressure of CO2 (Increasing pressure increases CR)
pH (lower pH increases CR)
Temperature (CR increases with temperature up to the point where stable
protective films are formed)
Saturation of fluid with iron ions Fe+ (Saturation decreases corrosion rate)
Flow regime
Hydrocarbon wetting
Inhibitors (including glycol)

Corrosion rates can be predicted using variations of De Waard-Milliams

model with correction factors.

Sour Corrosion Process

H2S produced from some reservoirs.
Some designs consider possibility of future H2S
production even if not predicted based on reservoir tests.
Dissolution of hydrogen sulphide into the water phase

Metal attack to form iron sulphide and hydrogen gas

Sour Corrosion Process

Hydrogen in the atomic stage is produced as part of the corrosion process.

In the presence of H2S it exists for a sufficiently long time at the steel
surface to become absorbed into the steel. (The presence of sulfide
poisons the metal surface reducing the ability for absorbed atomic
hydrogen at the metal surface to form H2, thereby increasing the rate at
which atomic hydrogen diffuses into the metal lattice.)
Once inside the steel the hydrogen atom is free, unless trapped, to diffuse.
Diffusion rate dependant on lattice dilation (i.e. at highly stressed/strained
zones), solubility (i.e. differences in microstructure), concentration (i.e.
towards the outer surface) and temperature.
If too much hydrogen is present at too high stresses in a susceptible
microstructure the result will be hydrogen embrittlement cracking and loss
of internal integrity.
The trapped hydrogen atom will recombine to molecular gas, and be
capable of exerting very high internal pressures.

Sour Corrosion
Sulphide stress cracking, SSC
This is a form of hydrogen stress cracking that involves embrittlement of the metal by
atomic hydrogen. High strength steel and hard weld zones are particularly prone to SSC.
Hydrogen induced cracking, HIC
This consists of planar cracking resulting from pressurisation of trap sites by hydrogen.
This is typically seen in steels with high impurity levels. Note that HIC may occur without
externally applied stresses. When it occurs close to the surface it may result in blistering.
Stress oriented hydrogen induced cracking, SOHIC
This consists of staggered small cracks formed perpendicular to the principal stress
(residual and applied) resulting in a ladder-like crack array linking small pre-existing
features akin to HIC. SOHIC is facilitated by high hydrogen concentration and local
stresses at and above yield strength.
Stepwise cracking, SWC
This is cracking that connects hydrogen-induced cracks on adjacent planes in the steel
wall. SWC is dependent upon local straining between the HIC, and embrittlement of the
surrounding steels by dissolved hydrogen.

Sour Service Resistance is obtained by keeping the hardness of base

metal, heat-affected zones and weld metal at sufficiently low levels,
and by improving steel cleanliness.

Microbial Corrosion
Microbiological induced corrosion (MIC) is caused by
the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The
SRBs feed on fatty acids (present in formation water)
and a range of hydrocarbons to produce sulphides
which are corrosive.
SRBs can be introduced through formation water or
untreated seawater.
Corrosion local to SRBs causes pitting.
The presence of SRBs can lead to rapid pipe wall
damage. SRBs present in anaerobic conditions cause
the majority of MIC failures.

Corrosion Control
Internal
Processing of pipeline fluid - ie de-water
Material selection - CS or CRA?
Chemical inhibition
Use of corrosion allowance (with chemical inhibition)
Internal coatings (not generally effective risks with
coating girth welds)
External
External coatings
Cathodic protection

Corrosion Inhibition

Inhibitors form films which prevent water wetting

of pipe wall. (flow rate / regime important to
ensure film not stripped)
General assumption is that inhibitors provide full
bottom of line protection when inhibitor system is
operating. Residual CR reduced to very low level
<0.1mm/year.
Corrosion occurs at full CR when inhibition
system is not working hence uptime of CI
system critical.
Corrosion allowance to allow for residual
corrosion and corrosion from inhibitor downtime.
Corrosion inhibition generally does not protect
against top of line corrosion need to control
condensation rate.
Inhibitors corrosive in high concentrations.

External Corrosion Control

External Coatings
Coatings isolate metal from contact with the surrounding environment
First defense against corrosion
A properly selected, applied, and installed coating should provide
99%+ of the protection required, supplemented with cathodic
protection
Required Properties of Coatings

Effective Electrical Insulator

Effective Moisture Barrier

Ease of Application to Pipe

Ability to Resist Development of

Holidays with Time

Ability to Withstand Handling, Storage,

and Installation

Resistance to Disbonding when under

Cathodic Protection

Ease of Repair / Field Joint

Compatibility

Cathodic Protection

There are two types of systems

galvanic where the anode is made from a more reactive metal than the
steel, ie anode is sacrificed to protect the steel.
impressed current where the driving voltage is supplied by an external
power source, ie transformer rectifier (TR) unit.

How Does CP Work

How Does Cathodic Protection Stop Corrosion?
Cathodic protection prevents corrosion by converting all of the anodic (active) sites on the
metal surface to cathodic (passive) sites by supplying electrical current (or free electrons)
from an alternate source.
For pipelines usually this takes the form of galvanic anodes which are more active than
steel. This practice is also referred to as a sacrificial system, since the galvanic anodes
sacrifice themselves to protect the structural steel or pipeline from corrosion.
In the case of aluminum anodes, the reaction at the aluminum surface is:
4Al => 4AL+++ + 12 e- (4 Aluminum ions plus 12 free electrons)
and at the steel surface,
3O2 + 12e- + 6H20 => 12OH(Oxygen gas converted to oxygen ions which combine with water to form hydroxyl ions)
As long as the current (free electrons) is arriving at the cathode (steel) faster than oxygen is
arriving, no corrosion occurs.

Cathodic Protection
Sacrificial Anodes
Design
Subsea usually Al/Zn/In alloy or pure zinc
Bracelet type, stand-off
Sled mounted
Sizing Considers:
Weight of alloy (alloy capacity, mean current
requirements)
Anode end of life resistance - based on
surface area
Anode spacing
Issues to Consider :
Current drainage - local structures
Interface with onshore pipeline
Hydrogen damage

Cathodic Protection

Typical External Coatings

Coating

Offshore

Onshore

Asphalt Enamel

With Concrete Coating

Not suitable

FBE

Good, but needs antislip & extra thickness

Good, but prone to

damage

3LPE/PP

Good

Good

Surface preparation is very important in the application

of all coatings

Concrete Coating (Not Corrosion Related)

For negative buoyancy
For mechanical protection
Various densities used (2,240
3,400kgs per cubic meter)

Reinforcement types
welded wire mesh
welded steel cages

Application Methods
impingement
(high velocity spray)
wrap (Compression coat)

Concrete Coating
Cage Reinforcement Installation and Concrete Mixing
Cement, Iron Ore, Sand and Water

OD measurement

Anti-Corrosion Coated Pipe

Weighing Machine

Concrete Curing

Sand Berm

Fog Cure

Field Joint Coating

Cold tape wrap, heat shrink sleeve or FBE
Generally field joint infilled with PU foam (used to
use mastic) to provide continuous outside
diameter

Field Joint Coating - Tape

Surface preparation limited to cleaning and wire brushing to surface quality

SA 3.

Installation time 3-4 minutes.

Wrapping tape fabricated from PVC

or polyethylene with a self-adhesive
layer. Total thickness 1.52.0 mm.
The tape is cut to size, and applied
to the field joint as a cigarette wrap,
with the overlap at the top of the
pipe.
Customary to use three wraps, one
to cover the exposed steel and two
(narrow) wraps to bridge the
gaps to the adjacent factory-applied
coatings, overlapping by
approximately 50 mm.

Field Joint Coating - HSS

Surface preparation limited to cleaning and wire brushing to surface quality

SA 3.

Installation time 3-4 minutes.

Heat shrink sleeves are manufactured

from radiation-crosslinked polyethylene
tape, provided with a self-priming sealant.
The total thickness is 1.52.5 mm.
Application similar to tape, except that
there is only one wrap.
Shrinking on to the joint is carried out
using the yellow flame of a gas torch,
applying the heat from the centre of the
joint area and outwards.
A typical shrinking ratio is 20 25% and,
after shrinking, the overlap to the factoryapplied coating should be at least 50 mm.

Summary
Experience shows that corrosion can be controlled, but
there will always be some residual risk.
Coherent corrosion control & monitoring programs are
part and parcel of the corrosion management.
The monitoring methods used must always be designed
to be fit-for-purpose.