CATHODIC PROTECTION MONITORING OF OFFSHORE PIPELINES AND

STRUCTURES IN ALASKAN WATERS

John P. LaFontaine and James N. Britton

Deepwater Corrosion Services, Inc.
6830 N. Eldridge Parkway
Suite 211
Houston, Texas 77041

ABSTRACT
Pipelines and structures located offshore of Alaska face unique challenges to monitoring
cathodic protection. Advances in Cathodic Protection Monitoring technology are discussed. New
portable ROV instrumentation as well as fixed monitoring of parameters affecting CP system
performance are reviewed. Case histories from the southern coast of Alaska as well as Arctic
waters are detailed.
INTRODUCTION
It is common knowledge that cathodic protection (CP) is necessary to limit corrosion on
metallic structures in marine environments. Monitoring CP can provide valuable data to owners
and operators regarding:
1.
2.
3.

The level of protection.

The remaining service life of the system.
Improvements for future designs.

In the environmentally sensitive coastal waters of Alaska, it is critical that the performance of the
CP system on a structure or pipeline can be monitored. From the fast currents of Cook Inlet to
the Frozen Beafort Sea the marine environment of Alaska presents many unique challenges from
a cathodic protection standpoint. The current density required to achieve polarization on steel in
Cook Inlet is over 6.5 times higher than that required in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition the cold
temperatures of these waters are as much as 30% less conductive that ambient waters. The
nearly year-round ice cover and permafrost make the Arctic one of the most challenging
environments yet encountered by corrosion engineers.
MONITORING GENERAL
The basic criteria for cathodic protection of steel in seawater is that it is polarized to at
least () 0.800 Volts vs. Ag/AgCl (silver / silver chloride) or (-) 0.850 Volts vs. Cu/CuSO4 (copper /
copper sulfate). This value can be determined by employing either reference cell, but typically in
seawater silver / silver chloride is used. Measuring the potential will tell you if are currently

protected. However measurement of other parameters is necessary to determine the remaining

service life of your system. Among these are the current density pick-up on the steel and the
anode current output. These values can be compared to design values to determine if the
system is operating as expected. On coated structures i.e. pipelines, anode current output can
be used to determine the efficiency of the coating.
COOK INLET
Several factors make Cook Inlet one of the most corrosive marine environments for steel
structures in the world:
1.

Extreme tidal ranges create tidal currents as high as 8.7 knots (1). The high velocity water
provides constant oxygen replenishment to the steel surface. In addition sand and other
particulates are churned into the water column, in effect blasting the steel surface,
preventing it from forming carbonate layers, which would otherwise decrease current
demand.

2.

The water temperatures are cold, ranging from 50 F (10 C) to 29 F (-2 C). The cold water
has a high dissolved O2 concentration, which further increases current density demand on the
steel (1).

3.

The resistivity of Cook Inlet water is as much as twice that of ambient 77 F (25 C) seawater.
This effect is a result of the low temperature as well as fresh water input.

It is imperative in such conditions that a comprehensive CP monitoring program is followed.

Pipeline Surveys
There are a number of critical aging pipelines in the Cook inlet that have only ever been
surveyed using trailing wire type remote electrode techniques and some riser drop cell readings.
It is now well accepted that these surveys give no detailed information regarding the true pipe
potential unless the electrode position with relation to the pipeline is well known, and the system
is corrected for the IR errors caused by the impressed current system. Many of the pipelines are
installed using pull tubes so that even the drop cell readings are meaningless.
Two or three electrode techniques would provide better data validity providing that
periodic pipeline contacts can be made to re-calibrate the true remote pipeline potential (Figure
1). This can be difficult because most of the pipelines are concrete weight coated for stability and
mechanical protection, so if the pipe doesnt have anodes (bracelets), there is no way to calibrate
unless concrete is removed.
Potential Attenuation Modeling
Understanding and recent improvement in techniques has made modeling much more
accurate, and if a few parameters can be measured on the line, predictive models can be used to
estimate the worst case scenario of potential versus coating efficiency. Fixed or retrofitted
permanent monitors can provide these reference points. This approach is particularly effective on
pipelines that use impressed current. An example of a recent survey illustrates this approach
(Figure 2). A predictive potential profile was determined before the pipeline was installed for the
purposes of designing the CP system. After installation and start up the pipeline potential was
measured at 5 locations. The original model was recalculated using the field measured endpoint
potentials. The close agreement between the field measurements and the model confirm the
validity of this approach.
Production Facilities
Economic and logistic drivers make fixed instrumentation preferable to surveys with
portable instrumentation. The same extreme marine conditions that make cathodic protection a
challenge in Cook Inlet also make diver and ROV work very difficult. This is particularly true on
jackets. Impressed current CP (ICCP) systems or ICCP/galvanic anode hybrid systems are

required to achieve the high current demands in Cook Inlet. Fixed reference electrodes
distributed across the structure are critical to evaluating system performance. Such an approach
was used on the Marathon Steelhead platform. This four-pile structure was set in 183-ft. (55.5 M)
of seawater. An array of Ag/AgCl and Zinc reference electrodes were installed down both sides
of one leg at 20-ft. intervals. By monitoring the steel potential with such an array, the current
output from the ICCP system can be optimized. On Steelhead the initial current output was 2100
A. After 30 days however it was determined that to achieve the proper potentials, output could be
lowered to 960 A. After two years of service output was lowered to 628 A. The monitoring
system allowed frequent potential measurements to be made simultaneously at many locations.
THE ARCTIC OCEAN
A project to develop the Northstar oil field, located in the Beafort Sea, marked the first time in
the Alaskan Arctic that a warm oil production pipeline, buried in the sea floor, has been used to
transport oil and gas from a manmade offshore island (Figure 3). Fixed cathodic protection
monitoring on this pipeline is a necessity due to environmental concerns and logistics.
The overall strategy was to measure the effectiveness of the CP system with a combination
of fixed monitors supplemented by a survey program. A sacrificial anode system was used on this
line instead of impressed current ground beds due to the high resistance of the permafrost. Near
the shore crossing (Point Storkersen), the following instruments were installed:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Anode Monitor (Figure 4)

Current Density Monitors (Figure 5)
Permanent Reference Cell (Figure 6)
Monitoring Panel (Figure 7)

Each one of these monitors had Ag/AgCl (silver/silver chloride) reference cell, a Zinc reference
cell, and a temperature transducer. Initial readings from the system after installation indicates the
CP system to be working optimally. The current output from the test anode was below 0.00001
amps. The pipeline potential was measured at (-) 1.068 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The very low anode
current output combined with the near anode potential of the pipe indicates that the CP system is
working very well. The effectiveness of the coating system was confirmed as data from the
coated CD monitor indicates 100% coating efficiency. The measured seamud temperatures of
26 to 28 F (-3.3 to -2.2 C) were in agreement with geotechnical survey data.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
It is probable that the development of new thermally applied metallic coatings will be a
part of future deepwater or high temperature CP systems. Large capacity mid-depth systems will
certainly shift more toward impressed current, as cost and flexibility become more important
factors. The future success of these systems will depend largely on information gathered from
monitoring systems installed on the early deployments of the technology.

REFERENCES
1. C.E. Hedborg, Cathodic Protection in Cook Inlet Arctic Waters, Materials Performance,
February 1991.

Figure 1. Offshore pipeline cathodic protection survey method.

Figure 2. Modeled potential profiles compared to actual field data on a marine pipeline.
1.100
CP SURVEY

Design

Modeled Results

1.050

Potential (-Volts vs. Ag/AgCl)

1.000

0.950

0.900

0.850

0.800

0.750
0

2000

4000

6000
Distance (Feet)

8000

10000

Figure 3.. General layout of the subsea portion of the Northstar pipeline.

Figure 4. Schematic of monitored anode.

Instrument Box
Signal Cable to Panel

Test Anode

Connection to Anode
Ground to Pipeline

Figure 5. Schematic of the current density monitor.

Instrument Box

Montitored Coupon

Signal cable to panel

Coupon connection
to instrument box

Ground to pipeline

Figure 6. Permanent reference cell.

Ag/AgCl Reference Cell

Instrument Box

Zinc Reference Cell

Figure 7. Monitoring panel at the shore crossing.