The Impact of Corrosion on the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

Summary The impact of corrosion on the oil industry has been viewed in terms of its effect on both capital and operational expenditures (CAPEX and OPEX) and health, safety and the environment (HSE). To fight against the high cost and the impact of corrosion within the oil industry, an overview of topical research and engineering activities is presented. This covers corrosion and metallurgy issues related to drilling, production, transportation and refinery activities. Introduction The wide-ranging environmental conditions prevailing in the oil and gas industry necessitates the appropriate and cost effective materials choice and corrosion control measures. The implementation of these measures are becoming increasingly important as the impact of corrosion on safety, economy and the environment takes up more challenging roles. Furthermore, production conditions tend to become more corrosive hence requiring a more stringent corrosion management strategy. Corrosion related failures constitute over 25% of failures experienced in the oil and gas industry. More than half of these failures are associated with sweet (CO2) and sour (H2S) producing fluids. An analysis of failures ascertained during the 1980s in a very limited industry wide survey, showed the degree of damage caused by corrosion and other types of materials degradation1. An overview of these figures are given in Tables 1 and 2. These figures, to a lesser or greater extent, are equally applicable to the petroleum industry wide activities. It is apparent that corrosion imposes a significant cost penalty on the choice of material at the design stage and its possible occurrence also has serious safety and environmental implications. Corrosion has a wide ranging implications on the integrity of materials used in the petroleum industry. Examples of these ranging from drilling, production, transportation and refinery are given in this paper - the examples are by no means exhaustive and Implications of corrosion causing other forms of degradation such as those related with welding are not covered.

Selection Casing Material Depending of Wells Fluid Corrosivity

“…At temperatures above 80°C the destruction of the metal hydrogen [7] significantly decreases the transition temperature range (65°C -80°C) fractures rarely occur, and the real danger of destruction of metal hydrogen begins just below 65°C.…”

A Review of CO2Corrosion Inhibition by Imidazoline-based Inhibitor

“…The main concern is the failure of equipment caused by CO2 corrosion, particularly the main downhole tubing and transmission pipelines, which results in disruption of the oil and gas production. Failures related to corrosion comprise over 25% of failures experienced in this industry, where 28% of it is CO2 related [3]. The costs associated with corrosion cannot be eliminated entirely and it is almost impossible to completely prevent corrosion.…”

Microbial Assessment of Used Drilling Mud and Mix Cement Fluid for Production Well

“…Microorganisms that is present in oil and natural gas fields cause a number of problems that lead to significant costs for the oil and natural gas industries [1,2]. Studies have shown that microorganisms can significantly alter or degrade a number of hydrocarbons in both oil and natural gas [3,4].…”

“…Studies have shown that microorganisms can significantly alter or degrade a number of hydrocarbons in both oil and natural gas [3,4]. Numerous studies have also shown that sulfide production by microorganisms in oil and natural gas fields can lead to a number of problems, including reservoir plugging, reservoir souring, reduced product quality, and corrosion of metal-containing equipment [1,2,5,6]. Even though it is clear that microorganisms cause problems in oil and natural gas fields, very little is known about the origin of microorganisms in these ecosystems [7].…”