Latest advancements in

corrosion management:
Extending assets lifecycle in
the oil and gas industry

Copyright 2017 IQPC Middle East. All rights reserved.

Produced by IQPC Middle East in association with the Corrosion & Inspection Conference from 17-19 September 2017 in Muscat, Oman.
 Latest
advancements in
corrosion
management:
Extending assets
lifecycle in the oil
and gas industry
The oil and gas industry in the
GCC is currently at a tipping
point: unprecedented
economic and industrial
growth over the past decade
has led to demand for
electricity soaring to the point
where natural gas production
simply cannot keep up.1
As demand increases across
the GCC, production must rise
to meet it. However, the
major problem facing natural
gas refineries in the GCC is
that around 60% of natural
gas deposits in the area are
considered sour; containing
more than 5.7 milligrams of
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) per
cubic metre. 4 The presence
of hydrogen sulfide and other
corrosives such as chlorides,
free water, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulphide, microbes
and naphthenic acids leads to
an increased risk of internal
corrosion, damage to drilling
equipment and potentially
lethal gas leakage due to their
high toxicity. 5 These
corrosionandinspection.iqpc.ae
difficulties are mirrored in
the oil industry, where
heavy crude production and
high-acid crudes are
increasing across the
industry, which means the
need for high-acid corrosion
management is rapidly
growing in-line with surging
electricity demand. 6
GCC experiences
progress despite
the challenges
Despite the obvious
difficulties in extracting and
refining gas and soil from
sour fields, steps have been
taken by GCC members to
exploit these reserves. In
particular, Oman has
committed significant
resources to accessing its
sour gas reserves with
projects such as the the
Rabab Harweel Integrated
Project and the sour oil and
gas processing facility at the
existing Yibal Khuff Sudair
field. 7 Developments in
Oman present additional
challenges, due to the
effect that natural extremes
of heat and humidity,
coupled with high
concentrations of naturally
occurring sulphides and
chlorine in the soil, have on
refinery infrastructure. 8
LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN CORROSION
MANAGEMENT: EXTENDING ASSETS LIFECYCLE IN
In Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia and the
UAE, demand is
already
outstripping
production:2 in the
UAE alone, natural
gas consumption is
expected to rise
from 6.3 trillion
cubic feet by 2019,
compared to just
2.8 tcf in 2014.3
_________________________________
1 Spe.org, Taking on the Technical
Challenges of Sour Gas Processing,
28/11/2014
2 ibid
3 ibid
4 Adjacentoilandgas.co.uk, Sour oil and
gas: Opportunities and risks, 01/11/2015
5 ibid
6 Arabianoilandgas.com, Cover story:
New directions in managing corrosion,
29/5/2017
7 Adjacentoilandgas.co.uk, Sour oil and
gas: Opportunities and risks, 01/11/2015
Arcom.ac.uk, Deterioration And
Rehabilitation Of Concrete Structures In
Hot And Arid Regions, 07/05/2016
8 ibid
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Potential Solutions
for GCC-based
refineries to
consider
Ultrasonic waves for pipeline
inspection Devices at the
cutting edge of ultrasonic
inspection utilise flexible
robotic probes which take
readings every 40-60 meters.9
This, combined with the use of
long-range ultrasonic waves,
The probe provides significantly reduces pipeline
100% volume inspection time. 10 The probe
inspection for itself is flexible and self-
powered, allowing it to conduct
features such as inspections of pipelines which
hard spots, stress include reduced diameters
corrosion cracking, caused by obstacles or sharp
bends. 11 It is also capable of
corrosion and indicating different types of
erosion while being damage, due to changes in
received signal amplitude of the
able to detect
scan returns. By virtue of it
corrosion defects being self powered, the probe
with thinning can actively swim through
greater than 10% of areas with no flow.
wall thickness.12 UAVs and drones Used to
combat the difficulties of
inspecting vast sections of
pipeline or remote facilities,
drones are becoming an
invaluable tool in monitoring
large or remote installations
and responding to potential
leaks. Currently BP is using the
Puma UAV to monitor its Alaska
pipeline to check for damage,
while also scanning for
weather-related disruptions
LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN CORROSION
MANAGEMENT: EXTENDING ASSETS LIFECYCLE IN
corrosionandinspection.iqpc.ae
such as icy conditions and
floods.13 The major
benefits of this approach
are twofold: firstly, UAVs
can more easily access
remote areas without
potentially endangering
employees in hazardous
environments or weather
conditions.14 Secondly,
drones fitted with light
detection and ranging
equipment can collect
high-resolution
topographical data on the
ground below.15 Because
of the instant connection
with the operator,
information received from
senior suites on UAVs can
be instantly interpreted,
reducing time between
corrosion detection and
repair.
_____________________
9 Twi-global.com, In-line service for
internal inspection of unpiggable
buried oil pipelines using long-range
ultrasonic guided waves.
02/06/2016
10 ibid
11 ibid
12 Pigwaves.eu, Project Concept.
01/01/2017
13 Linkedin.com, The new trend -
DRONES for the Pipeline industry.
08/11/2015
14 ibid
15 ibid
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
 Coatings and paints Designed
for internal or external surfaces,
corrosion resistant coatings
provide a protective barrier
between pipelines and the
corrosive effect of either the
impurities in the oil and gas or the
surrounding environment. Internal
coatings are designed to resist
corrosion from hydrogen sulfide
and other corrosives such as
chlorides, free water, carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulphide,
microbes and naphthenic acids.16
They must also be able to resist
abrasion from particulate moving
at speeds approaching 200mph.
External coatings need to be
resistant to soil stress, soil borne
chemicals, salt water, indigenous
bacteria, other flora, waste water
and to the chemicals and solvents
used in the processing of the
hydrocarbons. 17 Depending on the
position of the pipeline both types
of coating must be effective in
temperatures that can range from
100F in GCC states to -76F in
Alaska. 18
Nanotechnologies Defined as
the use of nanoscopic materials
with a size of 10-9m range,
nanotechnology is currently being
introduced to the oil as gas
industry through advanced
coatings which have the potential
to significantly outperform
traditional coating materials.19
Nanoparticles can be engineered
to contain specific optical,
magnetic, interfacial, electrical, or
chemical properties to perform
specific functions. 20 Superhard
nanocrystalline
corrosionandinspection.iqpc.ae
coatings can radically harden
metal piping, resulting in an
extended asset lifecycle. 6 Non-
stick nano-coatings can reduce
hydrate buildup, solids buildup,
and reduce foaming to improve
flow assurance in crude oil lines.
21 A major benefit of nanoscale
coatings are their ability to
prevent corrosion under
insulation. Because the
nanoparticles that make up the
coating are smaller than a water
molecule, the water is unable to
build up between the insulation
layer and the metal of the pipe,
thereby preventing CUI. This
preventative action is predicted
to result in significantly lowered
maintenance costs as CUi is
currently estimated to cause 40-
60% of piping maintenance
costs. 22
__________________________
16 Masterbond.com, Protective Epoxy
Coatings For Oil and Gas Pipelines.
05/07/2016
17 ibid
18 ibid
19 Slideshare.net, Nanocoating in the oil
and gas industry. 28/04/2015
Oedigital.com, Advanced materials.
01/07/2017
20 ibid
21 Oedigital.com, Nanotechnologies for oil
and gas. 07/05/15
22 Pfonline.com, Nanotechnologies Address
Pipe Corrosion. 3/01/2013
LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN CORROSION
MANAGEMENT: EXTENDING ASSETS LIFECYCLE IN
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
 Cathodic corrosion
systems/technique Mostly
seen in offshore drilling
platforms, cathodic corrosion
protection works by connecting
the equipment needing
protection to a more easily
corroded "sacrificial metal".23
More advanced systems provide
anode batteries connected to
under-seafloor pipelines. These
batteries are connected to solar
powered monitoring stations
which can interact with
unmanned underwater vehicles
to collect data on cathodic
protection levels. 24 Once the
system indicates that the
batteries are fully corroded, a
new sled of anodes can be
connected to the station without
tampering with the pipeline
itself. 25 This system of data
generating stations allows for
the gathering of up-to-date
corrosion monitoring as well as
limited interaction with the
pipeline itself to prevent
accidental damage. 26
confronted with new challenges
but also new opportunities. By
adapting to the use of drone
based pipeline inspection,
nanoparticle coatings, advanced
cathodic corrosion protection
and ultrasonic corrosion
detection robots, even states
Cutting-edge
like Oman, with its hydrogen
sulphide rich sour deposits and technologies are
challenging natural environment putting previously
will be able to make full use of
inaccessible
their resources to fuel future
growth. deposits within
_______________________________
reach and
providing answers
23 Upstreamonline.com, Planning
ahead to combat corrosion. 3/07/2017 to the questions of
24 ibid
25 ibid how to combat
26 ibid
their corrosive
nature.

Powerful emerging
solutions are
providing new
opportunities in the
GCC
As the GCC states increasingly
turn to their sour gas and oil
fields to fuel their growing
demand for electricity, the oil
and gas industry finds itself

LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN CORROSION

MANAGEMENT: EXTENDING ASSETS LIFECYCLE IN
corrosionandinspection.iqpc.ae THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
 Sources
https://www.spe.org/en/ogf/ogf-article-detail/?art=51

http://www.adjacentoilandgas.co.uk/health-safety-environment/sour-oil-and-gas-
opportunities-and-risks/22175/

http://www.arabianoilandgas.com/article-17278-cover-story-new-directions-in-
managing-corrosion/

http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/ar2005-0441-
0451_Anisuddin_and_Khaleeq.pdf

http://www.twi-global.com/news-events/case-studies/in-line-service-for-internal-
inspection-of-unpiggable-buried-oil-pipelines-using-long-range-ultrasonic-guided-waves-
612/

http://www.pigwaves.eu/?q=project-concept

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-trend-drones-pipeline-industry-jack-behar

https://www.masterbond.com/articles/chemical-and-heat-resistance-protective-epoxy-
coatings-oil-and-gas-pipelines

https://www.slideshare.net/oladayookunlola/nanocoating-in-oil-and-gas-industry

http://www.oedigital.com/component/k2/item/9005-otc15-nanotechnologies-for-oil-
and-gas

http://www.oedigital.com/technology/item/15764-advanced-materials

http://www.pfonline.com/articles/nanotechnologies-address-pipe-corrosion

http://www.upstreamonline.com/upstreamtechnology/1296565/planning-ahead-to-
combat-corrosion

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MANAGEMENT: EXTENDING ASSETS LIFECYCLE IN
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 17-19 September 2017 | Muscat, Oman

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September, Muscat Oman) to learn about the latest and
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environment and demography.

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