Corrosion control

The primary forms of corrosion in production operations are, metal pitting,

cracking, grooving, and wall thinning. It is necessary to know, environment,
location in the system, operation history, and metallurgy of corroded item for
diagnosis of corrosion problem
Corrosion occurs when:
- water is present
- electron flow can occur between an anodic cell and a cathodic cell
- pitting occurs when anodic cell is small compared to cathodic surface
- uniform metal loss occurs when anodic and cathodic surfaces are about
equal
Corrosion control
Corrosion can be prevented or reduced if a corrosive environment is recognized.
Early detection of active corrosion will allow initiation of control measures and
prevent serious problems. Corrosion may sometimes be allowed to proceed at an
acceptable rate if the projected economic loss from corrosion is less than the cost of
corrosion control. The degree of corrosion control influenced by safety aspects,
governmental regulations, and environmental considerations. There are many ways
to minimize corrosion in oil field operations including, materials selection,
engineering design, inhibitors, coatings, removal of corrosive gases, cathodic
protection, and uses of nonmetallic materials.
Select proper materials to reduce corrosion rate
Iron and steel are the most commonly used in oilfield operations because of
their lower cost ease of fabrication and strength. Sometimes high-priced alloys are
more economical than the use of steel. For example, various expensive alloys are
used in Sucker Rod pumps because other means of corrosion control are relatively
ineffective. Materials that have been used in sucker rod pumps application are
selected by the degree of corrosiveness and the level of sand production.
Aluminum bronze, stainless steel, and other alloys are used extensively for
valves and smaller pieces in CO2 injection projects. Caution must be exercised in
using of coatings for corrosion control. A pinhole in the coating on the anodic metal
can result in avery small effective anode area, and may lead to a very concentrated
corrosion in the whole metal.
Corrosion control through original design
Large savings in future repair and maintenance are usually possible through proper
planning for corrosion control when structure and other equipment are being
designed and installed. Here are some of the more prevalent corrosion problems
resulting from improper design:
- cracks cause concentration cell corrosion
- poor drainage of lines and equipment may cause concentration cell
corrosion
- dissimilar metals coupled together may cause galvanic corrosion
- If fluid velocity is too slow, solids settle and shelter bacteria. Trace
amount of oxygen set up corrosion cells. If it is too high, protective
films are eroded.
- Pump suction conditions may promote cavitation
Methods of corrosion control
- remove water
- dehydrate gas
- dewater or stabilize crude oil
• prevent or reduce water contact
– chemical protection
– coatings
• make surface cathodes
– sacrificial anodes
– rectifiers
• internal corrosion
– dehydrate or dewater
– chemical protection
– coatings
• external corrosion
– sacrificial anodes
 – rectifiers
– coatings
Techniques of measuring corrosion rate
Measuring corrosion rate made over an extended time because single test
do not provide real value of the damage, the principal means of
determining corrosion rates are:

- Visual inspection, out of service equipment can be inspected (scan all

the equipment ) to determine the corrosion damage
- Caliper surveys, this method use inspection tools run on wire line for
surveying the internal surface of tubing and casing to detect material
loss due to pitting.
- Casing Inspection Log: magnetic fluxes leakage detection tools use to
distorted magnetic field around an anomaly in the pipe wall such as
corrosion pit to create a signal in a pick-up coil to be recorded in the
surface
- Ultrasonic thickness tests: measuring instruments use the principal
that the speed of transmission of a sound wave through a material is a
constant characteristic of the material
- Metal Loss rate Tests using Coupons: weight loss is very common
tests. Corrosion coupons are stripes of mild steel of various sizes with
a hole in one end so that coupon can be mounted on an insulating
(plastic) rod and inserted in a pipe line or tank through a threaded
fitting, coupons must be accuratel;y weighted before exposure.
Weight–loss, area of coupon, and exposure time are used to measure
the corrosion rate.
- Electrical resistance method this instrument measures electrical
resistance of an exposed metal

Asphaltene Deposition
Asphaltene deposition causes serious problems in Production operations, from the
reservoir, through production tubing and in surface facilities
 1. Asphaltene deposition occurs when gaseous saturated hydrocarbons are
used to displace oil in EOR
2. Mixing of crude with light oils or gases used in miscible flooding could
lead to asphaltene precipitation
3. Acids , during Acidizing stimulation.
4. Asphaltene precipitation caused by Temperature, Pressure, and
composition changes
Asphaltenes are the black components present in crude oil. Their molecular weight
is relatively high and they are normally polar chemicals because of the presence of
Oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and various metals in their molecular structure,
chemically asphaltenes consist of polycyclic, aromatic ring compounds, they are
soluble in aromatic solvents such as Benzene, xylene, toluene, but not soluble in
distillates such as kerosene, and diesel oil. Deposited asphaltenes can reduce
effective hydrocarbon mobility by, blocking the pore throats, adsorbing onto the
rock thereby altering the formation wettability from water-wet to oil-wet, increasing
hydrocarbon viscosity by forming water -in-oil emulsions
When asphaltene precipitation occurs in the rock matrix, some asphaltenes may
drop out in the pores because of their large sizes, others may be carried by the
flowing fluid until they arrive simultaneously at the pore throats to bridge and
reduce effective permeability
Asphaltene Deposition
Asphaltene can form micelles that have polar characteristics their deposition can
occur severe problems in wells producing high asphaltene content crudes, in the
tubing, wellbore, perforation, and formation near to wellbore. Deposition of
asphaltene in the formation sand grains near the wellbore will oil-wet the sand
reducing the relative permeability to oil and reducing oil production
Methods of Asphaltene removal and treatment
Mechanical treatment of asphaltene is the method of removing asphaltene
deposits by using mechanical tools such like:
- High pressure lances
- Expanding brushes
- Expanding scrapers
Mechanical methods require disassembly of some part of the surface
facilities, and the time remaining from mechanical cleaning is longer
 Chemical treatment of asphaltene is the method of removing asphaltene
deposits by using aromatic solvents such like:
- Toluene ,xylene, and light oil distillates ( have a power of 40%
removal asphaltene solids)
- OLG, gas oil from coal tar distillation (have a power of asphaltene
dissolution up to 95%)
- Co-solvents, mixture of several solvents
The chemical cleaning is more cost effective

Paraffin Deposition

Paraffin particles are high molecular weight (C18 – C50) alkanes. Which can
precipitate when equilibrium conditions change causing a loss of solubility.
Temperature reduction is the most common cause of paraffin deposition. Paraffin
deposits create production problems and low temperature handling problems.
Factors determine the rate and nature of wax deposition are:-

- The flow rate. Wax deposition rate decrees from laminar to turbulent flow
- Temperature.
- The oil composition. Wax deposition affected by: Quantity of wax in the
crude, and the solubility and crystal size
- Pressure
- The nature of the surface.

Removal of Paraffin deposits

Paraffin deposits vary greatly from one reservoir to another, and differences have
even been noted in wells in the same reservoir. The most common method of
removing paraffin from iol wells are: mechanical, chemical, heat, and dispersant

Design for wax control

Test to determine paraffin content and asphaltene content of crude should be

conducted as part of the planning phase of equipment design for a new field. Plastic
coating of tubing can be used if the down hole paraffin deposition is predicted. For
chemical or thermal treatment, a number of down hole treating devices are available
to allow chemical or hot oil to be pumped into the tubing via the annulus in wells
equipped with tubing packer. Paraffin scrapers attached to rods will reduce the
frequency of hot oiling in red - pumped wells.

Scale Deposition

Scale deposited in formation matrix and fractures, wellbore, downhole pumps,

tubing, casing, flow lines, and tanks. Scale deposits usually form as a result of
crystallization and precipitation of minerals from water. Scale deposition can be
attributed to such factors as, pressure drop, temperature change, and mixing of
incompatible waters. Many of mineral scales deposit in oil wells such as, sodium
chloride (NaCl) Halite, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), Magnetite (Fe3O4), Hematite
(Fe2O3) , gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), and Barite (Barium Sulfate BaSO4).

Scale removal

Scale is classifies by methods of removal to: water soluble, acid soluble, soluble in
chemicals other than water or acid.

Mechanical methods such as string shot, sonic tools, drilling, or reaming, have been
used to remove both soluble and insoluble scales from the tubing, casing, r open
hole. Scale may be remove from surface lines with scrapers, or by reaming out.

Water-soluble scale: the most common water soluble scale is sodium chloride
which can be dissolved by fresh water.

Acid soluble scale: the most common is calcium carbonate, can be removed by
using a hydrochloric acid or Acetic acid solution. Sometimes it is effective to use
hot acid treatment in which the acid is reacted with Magnesium or aluminum in the
well bore to heat up the entire system.

The chemical treatment for removal of calcium sulfate is slow in comparison of the
removal for acid soluble scales. First step is treatment with a chemical solution
which converts the acid insoluble sulfate to a soluble scale
 Hydrate

Hydrates can only form when three main conditions are met:
- Water must be present. Hydrates are 80 – 90 wt.% water formed
- Hydrocarbons must be present. Molecules such as methane, ethane, pentane,
and butane stabilize the structure.
- Hydrates form at temperature around 5º - 25º C depending on the pressure.
Hydrate Prevention
It is necessary to identify hydrates formation conditions and determine which areas
are likely to have hydrate problems. Investigate all the current system in order to
evaluate most suitable options which maybe a combination of design and
operational changes and implement these to prevent or reduce hydrate problems.
When restarting pipeline which has not been completely inhibited the pipeline
should be depressurized if this has not already been done. If a number of wells feed
into the same pipeline then these should be brought on-stream in sequence starting
with the well which has the leanest gas (highest hydrate formation temperature) a
lowest water content. Starting with a low flow rate keeps the pressure low and
therefore reduces the hydrate formation temperature.
Design strategies for preventing hydrate problems
The main design strategies for preventing hydrate problems are
- keep the fluid temperature above hydrate temperature
- Add chemicals to the water in order to change hydrate formation
temperature (methanol and glycol)
- Add chemicals to the water in order to slow down hydrate formation
- Add chemicals to the water in order to change hydrate crystal
formation
- Remove water from the system
- Keep the system pressure below the hydrate formation pressure