78-Pet-5 os PUG La publication $3.00 PER COPY $1.50 TO ASME MEMBERS The Society shell net be responsible for etatemente wmiselilon’ advanced in papers or in discussion at meatings ofthe Soetatyor of ab Divisions or Sections, or printed in ts publications. Discussion fs printed ony it me paper is pubusned in an ASME journal or Proceedings. Released for goneral pubication upon presentation Ful cect should be oiven to ASME. the Technical Division, and the author(s). The Effects of H,S on Engineering Design of Oil and Gas Wells and Facilities BLN. TUTTLE. Shell Oil Co, New Grleans, La The design engineer faces a number o critical decisions when selecting metallic materials for use in oll and gas production equipment when hydrogen sulfide is present. The potential for sudden failure resulting from sulfide stress cracking if improper materials are Selected and the problems associated with the toxicity of hydrogen sulfide make his selection critical Today, the selection process is much easier than in the past because of the wealth of technology which has been developed and documented in industry standards. The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) has recently published NAGE Standard MR.01-75 (1078 revision) which covore motallio material acleetion for oilfield equipment This standard is an excellent guide for both manufacturers and users, The scope of this standard is broad and ranges from driling to oll and gas processing. A summary of the Concepts involved in the metal selection process and a guide to the use of MA-O1-75 are discussed ‘Contributed ty the Petroleum Lnsion of the American Society of Mechanical Engicers for presentation ston, Texas, November 59, 1978. Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters July 6, 1978. Copies wil be avilable until August 1, 1979 THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, UNITED ENGINEERING CENTER, 48 EAST 47th STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017The Effects of H,S on Engineering Design of Oil and Gas Wells and Facilities ansTRAcT ‘The design engineer faces a nunber of critical decisions when selecting metallic aaterials for use in ffl and gas production equipment when hydrogen sulfide is present. The potential for sudden failure result= ing from oulfide stroos cracking if improper materiale fare selected and the problens associated with the tox- icity of hydrogen sulfide make his selection critical Today, the selection process 18 mich easier than tn the past because of the vealth of technology which has been developed and documented in Industry standards, The National Association of Corrosion Bngineers (Mace) has recent1y published NACE Standard ¥R-01-75 (1978 revision) ‘which covers metallic material selec tion for oilfield equipment. This standard is an aneellent guide for both nanufacturcre ond vee! ‘The scope of this standard is broad and ranges drilling to ofl and gas processing. A sumary of the concepts involved in the metal selection process and 2 guide to the use of MR-O1-75, are discussed. INTRODUCTION ‘The design engineer faces a nuaber of crucial ating fluids which contain hydrogen sulfide. The potential for audden failure resulting from sulfide Stress cracking 1f improper materials are selected and the problens associated with the toxicity of hydrogen sulfide make his selection critical Today, the selection process 12 in the past because of the wealth of technology which has bean developed ond docusented in Tadustry standards. Nevertheless, he still faces the problen of (1) deter- Suffietent to cause either a metal failure or toxicity problem and (2) weighing risks versus cost during the process of deciding upon both che material selection and quality control procedures. much easter than Safety is the overriding criterion for selecting netals for use in handling fluids which contain hydro sen Gulfide, The choice of metals is critical since Sone metals are susceptible to a form of hydrogen fenbrittlenent often called sulfide stress corrosion racking (S80), and thie cracking cen eauee sudden failure of pressure-containing or tensile-stressed Procedures for selection of metals for thetr ssc ccotatence for see tn: protucing anf handling pat uhh Contains hydrogen sulfide are's well defined and docir tented sclencey and the Industry has a bigh degree of Success an producing such welte wnen sing che vali ble technolopyG-10). eva entternof-fact, a fetrly Tnege percencefe of the producing veils in texas do profuce flutds which contain at Least a small amoune orks. The metal selection process generally tavolves defining the maximum permissible strength permitted processes. Metal hardness has been selected by the Industry as a means of quality control siace hardness ‘ang atrengeh can be correlated and since hardness cam he seasured both in che plant and in the field. for Industry experience, with produced gas streams containing hydrogen sulfide concentrations as high 5 AO percent. hax shown thar the risk of failure is extremely ow provided the necessary selection and care is exercised. The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (QUCE) has recently published NACE Standard M-01-75 (1978 revision) which provides an excellent guideline for selecting materials for sour service (13) S8C failures have been few in number compared to the huge level of experience in the U.S. and Canada, and the ones that have occurred have been primarily a result of ineffective quality control oF poor operating or handling procedures, or Failure to identify the procence of H28. Accordingly, quality control te an essential part of the business of selecting materials for sour service Severe weight loss corresion may also be expers- enced in streans containing hydrogen sulfide, particu- larly at temperatures above approximately 200 F (93 C). The designer should seek expert advice with regard to predicting corrosion potential and selecting corrosion control methods for any system handling sour fluids| FE TACTORS INFLUENCING SULFIDE SIMBSS CUAKUSLON CRACKING (ssc) Envfronmental Factors gen sulfide and vater under operating conditions con Gucive to SSC. The critical operation coaditions to be convidered are: will the metal be eapused wily 10 sy what is the partial pressure of hydrogen sulfide, pi of the vater being handled, temperature and stress Level. Partial Pressure of HS. NACE Standard MR-O1-75 (2978 revision) provides guidelines (Section 1.3) for determining the level of hydrogen sulfide that can cause SSC in gas (Paragraph 1.3.1) and multiphase (Paragraph 1.3.2) ayetems(19), “Ao an cnanpley at oF below 0.05 paia (350 Pe) izS partial pressure, off the-shelf equipment sormally used for sveet gas should provide adequate service. Above 0,09 peia (30 Fa), faaterials should be selected on the basis of MR-O1-75. Sin{lar situations can be evolved for multiphase sys tens. Figure 1 provides a flowshoet for determining the appropriate engineering approach based on the factors involved. The design engineer should be extrenely careful in aking a decision regarding use of off-the-shelf metals in high pressure systens when traces of H25 are known to exist unless sufficient field history is available to substantiate the accuracy of the gS rancenrrarion Gata. In low BS systems, numerous problens exist in obtaining an accurate analysis of the H)S content because of abeorption and chenfeal reaction of the He with drilling mud, drill cuttings, tobulers, ete. In several field examples, fron weeks to several sonths of Production vere required Co obtain a representative sample. In addition, since the H2S can react with the sanple container during shipment, the actual analysis should be carried out on lorarinn, $f possible. Tee of plastic-coated tubing ean facilitate the rate of arrival Of HyS at the surface and the time required to reach a MR-01-75 also states that in low pressure gas sys~ tens. 65 pela (Kid kPa) or lene, affthenshel® agit pment has been used satisfactorily (no failures have been reported). In addition, for two-phase systens from G5 poio (W69 kPa) to 268 pote (1.83 MPa), Higher Nye partial pressures (10 psia or 69 Ps) can'be tolerated Ef the gas phase contains [5 percent or Less HS, before sulfige cracking resistant saterials must be selected (off-the-shelf equipment is satisfactory). Tt is believed that lack of faflures is a result of the nor~ ‘mal use of low strength components in low pressure service. Wowever, it should be kept in mind that internal pressure is only one sethod of atressing & conponent and other methods (e-pey tennile Lumin) my eatet wis fare capable of causing $SC. Thus, Zow strengeh SSC esistant components should still be used under con ditions outlined in che above paragraph. bH. The SSC tendency decreases vith increasing pi and above a pi of 8 to 9 metals are resistant depend ing on specific conditions(l+3.4,12), Fluid pH control hae boon ured offectively for proventiog $0 oF sue ceptible setals in drilling operations(*+5). “This pro- cedure 1s used in drilling operations because some por~ Clone of ube urLliiigs asseably require high seremnch materials which are susceptible to $SC. In contrast, pl control is not normally ured to prevent SSC in process streams because (1) SSC resistant 3