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Introduction
corrosion has been a recognised problem in oil and gas production and
transportation facilities for many years. Despite systematic attempts to analyse it
and develop predictive models, it is still not a fully understood phenomenon and
there remains ambiguity and argument on the engineering implications of parameters
which affect it. Furthermore, most of the present predictive models are not based on
adequate information to take into account the increasingly harsh environments seen
in deep wells and they also take little account of hydrodynamic parameters, and so
often lead to conservative designs.
The problem cannot be said to be a diminishing one, since reliable prediction of
the life of carbon steel components in production systems remains unclear [1],
particularly, in the current situation where oil and gas exploration activities have
moved to more marginal areas and harsher operational conditions. Many of these
fields necessitate the transportation of raw wellhead gas and fluids either from wells
(sometimes subsea) or from remote areas to a central processing facility, with the
export of treated fluids to a distant terminal/additional processing facility. Although
such systems have often been designed to operate successfully with corrosion
inhibition, there have been instances where this approach has failed in practice.
Nevertheless, with detailed evaluation of the corrosion risk, combined with a proper
corrosion management programme (control, monitoring, inspection and assessment),
production and transportation of wet hydrocarbon gas and oil in carbon steel facilities
is considered technically viable.
In brief, where there is a risk of internal corrosion in wet production facilities
there is a need for:
CO 2
In this document, the emphasis has been placed primarily on the first point and
the other three points have been addressed briefly.
The first step in establishing the design methodology is an understanding of CO 2
corrosion. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach, involving knowledge of fluid
chemistry, hydrodynamics, metallurgy and inhibitor performance and partitioning.
Mechanistic understanding of the phenomenon is essential to enable development
of engineering criteria for accurate prediction of the form and rate of corrosion which
may occur. This document aims to address these issues.