MAB4433: Corrosion Engineering

1
CORROSION STUDIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF
EXTERNAL CORROSION PREVENTION OF THE
SALVAGED OFFSHORE PIPELINES
Authors name
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak
Email address: qistina.nafisah@gmail.com
Abstract. Do not replace the word abstract, but do replace the rest of this text. If you must insert a hard
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Keywords: Corrosion; Offshore pipeline; Corrosion prevention; Coating linings
1. Introduction
This should contain the background of the failure,
what, where, when it happened. All related existing
work should be briefly described and referenced. A
hypothesis could be presented here.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Subsea Pipeline Design and Working
Environment

Most physical properties of seawater are similar to pure
water in which they can be described in terms of
temperature and pressure. However, differences of
about 5 to 10% between pure water and seawater can
affect the system level design such as the seawater
density, specific heat capacity and boiling point [1]. Sir
Edmond Halley proposed that salt and other minerals
were washed out of the ground and were carried into
the sea by rivers were the theory of the origins of
seawater [2].

Throughout the world, the major chemical constituents
of seawater are constant and are also known as the
principle of constant proportions of the Marcets
Principle [3].

TABLE 1. Major constituents of seawater
Element Symbol Per kg of seawater
Water H
2
O 965.6 g
Chloride ion Cl
-
18.980 g
Sodium ion Na
+
10.556 g
Sulfate ion SO
4
2-
2.649 g
Magnesium ion Mg
2+
1.272 g
Calcium ion Ca
2+
0.400 g
Potassium ion K
+
0.380 g


Only the minor constituents differentiate the location
and origin of the seawater. Apart from location,
seasonal changes, storms and tidal cycles also
differentiate the chemical compositions of the seawater
[4]. Some of the minor constituents include bromine
ions, carbon ions, boron ions and silicon ions. There are
also some trace elements that can be found in the
seawater such as nitrogen, lithium and molybdenum
[3].

Salinity of the seawater has some effects on the
corrosion of metal or substances immersed for a period
of time. There are two major effects which are due to
the conductivity of the water and the chloride ions
activity in the water [4]. This corrosion reaction is a
surface phenomenon and nature of rusts and their
adherence to the steels surface ultimately controls their
long term corrosion resistance performance [5].

There are a few factors for the increased rate of
corrosion of seawater which are the increase of
temperature and the concentration of dissolved oxygen.
Corrosion rate decreases with dissolved oxygen down
to the oxygen minimum, then increases again with
oxygen at greater depths, despite a continuing decrease
in temperature [4] and according to [6] deepwater is
defined as any water depth greater than 305 m.

Deepwater developments outrun the onshore and
shallow water field developments. Some of the reasons
are the limited onshore gas/oil reservoirs and relatively
larger offshore reservoirs than the onshore. Pipelines
transport processed oil or gas while the flow lines
transport crude oil or gas. The conveyed fluid in the
pipeline is a single phase fluid after separation from oil,
gas, water, and other solids. The pipeline has
MAB4433: Corrosion Engineering
2
moderately low temperature and low pressure just
enough to export the fluid to the destination [7].

2.2 Common Corrosion Forms on Subsea
Pipelines

The corrosion process is the dissolution of the iron of
the pipeline at the anodic areas as charged positive ions
into the seawater or seabed sediment. These ferrous
ions react to form oxides and hydroxides and may form
ferric salts if the water is well oxygenated. However,
more than any other kind of corrosion, pipeline in
service may be subjected to damages by chemical and
microbiological corrosion due to the content of the
various ions and microscopic and macroscopic
organisms in the seawater [8].

Microbiological corrosion may be defined as the
deterioration or the corrosion of metals induced by the
activities of microorganisms in the surrounding
seawater [9].

Pipelines that are buried under seabed sediment ought
to be at a little risk of corrosion due to the low oxygen
content of the seawater. However, the exceptions are
the presence of the organic sediments such as the
sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB). SRB use organic
acids as their food source and oxidize them using the
oxygen in the sulphate radical. The energy gain in this
process is small, and so the SRB have to process large
quantities of organic material and sulphate to obtain
sufficient energy for activity and growth [10].

Other types of bacteria which also increase the
corrosion rate of the subsea pipeline include the
sulphur-oxidizing bacteria which produce sulphuric
acid from inorganic sulphur and reduced sulphur
compounds and iron bacteria which obtain energy from
the oxidizing of ferric ions resulting in the deposition
of ferric hydroxide [9].

The concentration of salts in the environment and the
local temperature affect the resistivity and pH and,
hence, both the potential corrosiveness of the
environment and the coating degradation behaviour.
Environments with particularly high chloride or low
sulphate levels compared to seawater are at higher than
normal risk of corrosion, because the corrosion
products of iron are more soluble. Activity of the SRB
also alters with salinity and temperature [11].

2.3 Common corrosive prevention method and
mechanism

Normally pipelines are protected against external
corrosion by a corrosion coating that covers the
complete external surface of the pipeline [10]. The 120-
km off Norwegian Coast pipelines in the Ormen Lange
Field for example, has an external coating of fusion
bonded epoxy and polypropylene for insulation and
protection against sea water corrosion [12].

For subsea pipelines, the coatings should be tough,
have good adhesion to the pipe, can be easily repaired,
able to resist any mechanical damage during the
installation process, can be easily coated in the welded
lanes and be compatible with cathodic protection [13].
FIGURE 1. Basic layers of coating for an offshore
pipeline

There are many types of coatings which are used for
subsea pipeline applications. These include fusion bond
epoxy (FBE), dual and multilayer FBE, three-layer
FBE, polyolefin, and coal tar enamel coatings. Usage
of these types of coatings is in accordance to various
standards available in the industries. Some of these
include:

1. NACE RP0394-2002: Standard recommended
practice. Application, performance, and
quality control of plant-applied, fusion-bonded
epoxy external pipe coating
2. CSA Z662-03: Oil and gas pipeline systems
3. ISO 21809-4:2009: Petroleum and natural gas
industries External coatings for buried or
submerged pipelines used in pipeline
transformation systems

The surface of the pipes should be prepared before any
coatings be applied to ensure complete removal of
surface contaminants and corrosion products as well as
to check the physical condition of the pipes external
surface. For that, the standards ISO 8502 provides for
the testing of the cleanliness of surfaces [14], by:

1. ISO 8502-1: A field test for the presence of
soluble iron corrosion products after blasting
2. ISO 8502-2: A laboratory test for the presence
of chlorides on cleaned surfaces
3. ISO 8502-3: An assessment of the presence of
dust (residual corrosion products) using
pressure-sensitive tape
4. ISO 8502-4: Determining the possibility of
moisture condensation
3. Methodology

External coating
Carbon steel
Internal coating
MAB4433: Corrosion Engineering
3
Write a clear, informative, and thoughtful description
of what you did. Explain your experimental procedures,
techniques used, etc. Compare to what other people
have done.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1 Sample 1: Smooth lining sample

FIGURE 2. Condition of pipeline under the lining


FIGURE 3. SEM illustration of the smooth lining
sample at 1000x magnification

TABLE 2. Major elements found in the smooth lining
Element Weight %
Carbon 76.194
Oxygen 19.317

4.2 Sample 2: Lining covered with barnacles


FIGURE 4. Condition of pipeline under the lining


FIGURE 5. SEM illustration of lining covered with
barnacles at 1000x magnification

TABLE 3. Major elements found in the barnacle-
covered area of the lining
Element Weight %
Oxygen 47.700
Carbon 27.996
Calcium 20.843

5. CONCLUSION
This summarizes what have been done and concluded
based on the results. A recommendation on how to
prevent the same failure is required here.

6. RECOMMENDATION
This summarizes what have been done and concluded
based on the results. A recommendation on how to
prevent the same failure is required here.


MAB4433: Corrosion Engineering
4
8. References
[1] M. H. Sharqawy, J. H. Lienhard and S. M.
Zubair, "Thermophysical Properties of Seawater:
A Review of Existing Correlations and Data,"
Desalination and Water Treatment, no. 16, pp.
354-380, 2010.
[2] Wikipedia, "Seawater," Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., 26 March 2014. [Online]. Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawater. [Accessed
28 March 2014].
[3] M. Lane, "Seawater: Earth is an Ocean Planet,"
2006. [Online]. Available:
http://www.laniainakai.com/ocean/files/ocean_no
tes/keynote/salinity.pdf. [Accessed 28 March
2014].
[4] S. C. Dexter, "Corrosion in Seawater," in ASM
Handbook Volume 13C: Corrosion:
Environments and Industries, ASM
International(OH), 2006, pp. 27-41.
[5] J. Singh and D. Singh, "The Nature of Rusts and
Corrosion Characteristics of Low Alloy and Plain
Carbon Steels in Three Kinds of Concrete Pore
Solution with Salinity and Different pH,"
Corrosion Science, vol. 56, p. 129142, 2012.
[6] J. Lee, "Design and Installation of Deepwater
Petroleum Pipelines," in The World Congress of
Korean and Korean Ethnic Scientists and
Engineers, Seoul, 2002.
[7] J. Lee, "Introduction to Offshore Pipelines and
Risers," 2009. [Online]. Available:
http://www.jylpipeline.com/Pipeline_2009C_Brie
f.pdf. [Accessed 28 March 2014].
[8] A. C. Palmer and R. A. King, Subsea Pipeline
Engineering, 2nd ed., Oklahoma: PennWell,
2008.
[9] W. P. Iverson, "Microbial Corrosion of Metals,"
in Advances In Applied Microbiology, vol. 32,
Florida, Academic Press, 1987, pp. 1-36.
[10] Y. Bai and Q. Bai, Subsea Engineering
Handbook, Houston: Elsevier, 2012.
[11] G. Yuzwa, "Corrosion by Sulphate Reducing
Bacteria," H2O Engineering LTD., Alberta, 1991.
[12] I. S. Nerb, V. Fiksdal, . Baltzersen, S.
Haarberg, H. Sleire, M. Guldstein and I. Karaga,
"Corrosion Monitoring of a Polymer Coated
Subsea Pipe with Ultrasound," in NACE
International Corrosion 2013 Conference and
Expo, Orlando, 2013.
[13] J. Ernest W. Klechka, "Corrosion Protection for
Offshore Pipelines," Coatings for Corrosion
Protection: Offshore Oil and Gas Operation
Facilities, Marine Pipeline and Ship Structures,
pp. 132-143, 14-16 April 2004.
[14] G. S. Fomin, Encyclopaedia International
Corrosion Standards, London: Maney Publishing
for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and
Mining, 2003.