Corrosion in the Oil Industry ‘Most metals exist in nature as stable ores of axides, carbonates or sulfides. Refining them, to make them useful, requires energy. Corrosion is simply nature's way of reversing an unnatural process back to a lower ‘energy state. Preventing corrosion is vital in every step in the production of oil and gas. Denis Bronce Montrouge, Frnce Randy Edwards Columbus, Ohio, USA Andrew Hayman (Claman, France Donald Hill Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA ‘Shreekant Mehta ‘5. Austell, England “Tony Semerad ‘Mobil Sumatra, indonesia orhapinpearaion of is ac, arn ln ‘vio Sommer Coie Resear Aad i Sclonborer Geos, Abu Ds, UAE: ‘Nat Marant, Schlep wn & Ting “ipl bya ory Nw Se, Savage Neway, Say Neate unbeue Wee Te Jak, nsnelay Daniel Roch EBay Noy Pip ant ane Dee Sane Schumer We Ue sing. Monauge, Hance: Dave Thome, ‘Shmbare Wiener Bere, Nowa a Pi Temp, no Vw and cared Wat, St. ger Wie esr, A Dab UAE CET Cee Evalton Tal, CORGAN, CPT Kone Son st Protcion faa ao FACT a Ary Come To, DOE OFM, CA METT Cl Tirguanyecomagnate Tek Yay PAL Bip ‘aig Ub lense devel ge ane (Osteen lage are mans of Sree Corrotion costs US industries alone an esti mated $170 billion year. The oil industry, ‘with its complex and demanding produc- tion techniques, and the environmental threat should components fall, takes an above average share ofthese cost. Corrosion-the deterioration ofa metal or its properties attacks every component at every stage inthe life of every oil ancl gs fied, From casing scngs 1 production plat- forms, from drilling through to abandon- ‘meni, corrosion is an adversary worthy of all the high technology and research we can teow ati Oxygen, which plays such an important ‘ole in corrosion, 1s nat normally present in producing formations. itis only at the ling stage that oxygen-contarsinated fl ids are fest intoduced. Drilling muds, left Lunteaied, will corrace not only well casing, bout also eilling equipment, pipelines and ‘mud handling equipment. Water and car- bon dioxide—produced oF injected for sec- ondary recavery—can cause severe coro- sion of completion strings. Acid—used to reeluce formation damage around the well oF to remove scale—readily lacks metal Completions and surface pipelines can be exedled away by high production velocities ‘or blasted by formation sand, Hytiogen sl- fide [H,5) poses other problems (next page). ‘Handling all these corrosion situations, with the added complications of high temper tures, pressures and stresses involved in ling oF preduction, requires the expertise fof corrosion engineer, an increasingly key figure in the industry. Because itis almost impossible to prevent coresion, itis becoming more apparent that contalling the corrosion rate may be the ‘most economical solution. Corrosion engi ‘ees are therefore increasingly involved in tesiimating the cost other solutions to cor- rosion prevention and estimating the useful life of equipment. For example, develop- ment wells in Mobil's Arun gas field in Indonesia have been monitored for coero- sion since they were drilled in 1977. Production wells were completed using 7-in. 1-80 grade carbon steel tubing—an H,S-resistantsteel—allowing flow rates in ‘excess of 50 MMsciD [1.4 MMscr/D] at ‘over 300°F [150°C]. High flow rates, HS and carbon dioxide [CO,} all contributed to the corrosion af the tubing. Laboratory ‘experiments simulated the Arun well con- lions, alongside continued field monltor- ing. These help find the most economical solution to the corrosion problem.2 The results showed that the carbon steel tubing ‘would have to be changed to more expen sive chromium steel oF to corrosion-resis- tanralloy (CRA} ~~ Oilfsla Review—(Dcorrosion in every C 5s : ‘aspect of the ol! . s | : <5 | Industry. From geo. -| eratized comosion ; || caused by oxygen eters : Heh environments es i ‘on mano struc- teres fo singe a Breas corosion 12 = ‘host wel, the corrosion, ‘Blaced witne oasrga | rae gamut or 4 problems. ‘oats "The Baste Consion Cell “Tora cage rower ‘sa i So Vn ren Sin By recognizing corrosion when it does AS linn tury Coon Mania, tone Ft lor Can Wi Low Pc occur, and by understanding the mecha. OLS ASM 1 ee ie erica nisms involved, corrosion engineers may — Foe Oar soe ‘Sew Cinna, Oo, USA, March 11-15, 1981. ‘begin to elleninate corrosion by design. ‘no Poon as, Ouahom, SA OCCT ‘sel veer Sit ere he bic panic cooson mechanism Pine mi” {apt De He Care We pt OS Yoliows the prinle ofa battery. A typical TathN:"Conmonin Ci maCas Prati’ Cie Seppe Dacen . 90 baer request disimlar pets cans ‘aeal mann ane ay Te ae eran Ca ay Peres ‘Sines Aly or et Dep Sur Wee op nected together and immerse nan elec- eee eee sors Novena Fal Sz nd el Conon et ‘Hid pena Noe reve ae fa pes ‘cs ai Nom He 19 "April 1994tuolye (below? All metals have a tendency to dissolve oF cortade to a greater or lesser degree. In this case, the metal with the renter tendency to coerade forms the nega= tive pole and is called the anode When the two are connected, the other metal ‘ors the postive pole, or cathode. Loss of positive metal ions irom the anode ‘causes a release of free electrons. This pro- cess is called oxidation. The buildup of electrons generates an electrical potential, ‘causing them to flow through the conductor to the cathode. At the cathode, excess elec- twons are neutalized oF taken up by ions in the electralyle. This process i called reduc- tion, As long as reduction reactions predom nate, no metal is lost atthe cathode. The anode will continue to corrode as long as the electric circuit is maintained and the ‘metal ions are removed from solution by combining with cher elements to make up corrosion products ‘Anodes and cathodes can form on a sine ‘le piece of metal made up of small crystals ‘of slightly diferent compositions. (They can bbe next to each other or separated by large distances-sometimes tens of kilometers.) “The electrolyte may simply be water (right For example, pure iron [Fe] in steel has a (products or scales a rusi—on oxida {FeO HO on ses 75,8 ton ‘Whe this s happen. Ing, te locos nigate to the catoge ‘tine cathode sutlare, they reduce oxy- ‘Water fo produce bydrony ons {0 Jor reduce hyarogen tons io preatice ‘Ryarogon gas 1) tendency to dissolve, going into solution as Fer, As each Fer ion i formed, two elec tons are left behind, giving that area of the metal a small negative charge. 1 nothing happens to remove Fer ions around the anodic site, the tendency to dissolve will diminish. in ei production, Fer ions are removed by reacting with oxygen [Os], hydrogen sulfide, or carbon dioxide. The corrosion products are precipitates or scales ff rust [Fe,O,], iron sulfides [Fe5, or iron catbonate[Fe,CO,]- Excess elecirans flow away from the anodic region to a site where they form a cathode, and where reduction occurs. Reduction of oxygenated water forms hydroxy! ions [OH]. If oxygen is not pre sent, but CO, oF HS is, then the dominant cathodic reaction is the reduction of hhydzogen ions to produce hydrogen gas. If the electrolyte is salt water chlorine gas is produced (See "Corrosion Mechanisms,” page 8). “There are many sources of corrosion and ‘many more methods of slowing the process down. This section looks at different pars ‘of the Industry and identifies typical corro- sion problems and some of the solutions (next page. Offshore structures—On surface equip- ‘ment, the simplest solution isto place an insulating baer over the metal concemed. COfshore installations are often painted with 2incerich primers to form a barcer against rain, condensation, sea mist and spray. The Zinc primer nat only forms a physical bar- Fler, but also acts as a sacrificial anode should the barir be breached. Offshore structures are also protected in ‘iher ways? The zone above the high tide mark, called the splash zone, is constantly in and out of water. The most severe coro sion occurs here. Any protective coating or film is continually eroded by waves and there is an ample supply of oxygen and water. Common methexls of controlling cor rosion in this zone include further coating and alo increasing metal thickness to com- pensat fr higher metal loss. “The pat ofthe structure inthe tidal zone is subjected to less severe corrosion than the splash zone and can benefit from cathodic protection systems at high tide.* Cathodic protection works by forcing anodic areas to become cathodes. To achieve this, a reverse currents applied o counteract the cotrosion current. The curent can be generated by an extemal DC source—impressed cathodic protection—or by using sacrificial anodes, “The rest of the sructure—exposed 10 less severe seawater corrosion—is protected by cathodic protection. However, crustaceans and seaweed attach 10 the submerged parts adding weight that may increase stress- related corrosion. This mechanism occurs when the combined effecis of crevice, oF pitting, corrosion and stress propagate cracks leading to structural failure. How- fever, a covering of lie does restric oxygen reaching metal, and so reduces corrosion ‘Other forms of structural stress are also important. Loweirequency cyclic stress— resulting from factors such as waves, tides and operating, loads—can allow time for ‘corresion within cracks a$ they are opened. ‘Modeling and accounting for these stresses are therefore an extemely important part of corrosion prevention? Cilfeld Review