Corrosion Control in Oil & Gas Installations

Abstract

Globalization inevitably drives prices of commodities and services lower. As such, to remain competitive in the Oil & Gas industry it is imperative in low oil prices regimes to decrease operating costs. A key element of low operating costs in hydrocarbon exploration, production and refining, is corrosion control. In this paper the development of corrosion circuits/loops is improved by categorizing sixty four damage mechanisms based on operating preconditions, material susceptibility and monitoring methods. The inspection resource requirements are determined for each Refinery unit based on number of damage mechanisms, the required monitoring methods and the screening of regulated equipment. Corrosion loops are developed based on failure mechanism applicability and not arbitrarily changes in operating conditions or the probability of failure. Material selection methods for critical units during detailed design should not be qualitative to avoid over/under designs that are carried over to operating/inspection programs. When inspection effectiveness does not add significant value to risk reduction due to a gap between operating requirements and turnaround intervals, consequence mitigation, including operating practices should be examined. Therefore, risk studies including RCM, HAZOP and QRA should be aligned with RBI and validated by failure and consequence statistics. IOW assignment should consider design risk profile and operating (operations and inspection) risk profiles. By far this is the underlining reasons why operators are unable to leverage management systems to mitigate risk, lower operating cost and avoid major accidents. The importance of managing risk transfer between equipment design, operation, inspection, safety and system integration is highlighted. Integrity operating windows are not exclusive. The alignment of all the installation risks enables the operator to leverage risk profiles in manner that satisfies the statutory body and addresses its business needs.

Advanced liquid epoxy and polyurethane materials: internal and external coatings for pipeline and tubing protection

“…One of the most significant factors that affect the technical condition of oil and gas equipment is corrosion [1]. Corrosion protection of pipelines, valves and fittings is achieved, by the application of protective anticorrosive coatings [2].…”