Materials Performance

APR 2017

Materials Performance is the world's most widely circulated magazine dedicated to corrosion prevention and control. MP provides information about the latest corrosion control technologies and practical applications for every industry and environment.

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54 APRIL 2017 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 56, NO. 4 CHEMICAL TREATMENT powder formation, particularly where it is impossible to: • Avoid stagnation/low f low issues in flow lines and headers • Maintain ef fective dehydration of desalted crude in crude export lines • Maintain effective dehydration of gas in export gas lines Internal corrosion control is key to mit- igating the black powder problem. This in- cludes treatment chemical application ; erosion velocity control; sound production- well start-up procedures; and effective de- sign, material selection, coating selection, and maintenance (cleaning ) pigging. Be- fore any corrosion mitigation program can be properly developed, the operator must first determine the corrosion mechanism and severity. It is important to ensure that the monitoring program ref lects all rele- vant aspects of the corrosive environment before selecting a strategy. It is also impor- tant to recognize that improper selection or misapplication of mitigation measures may inadvertently worsen the corrosion and/or black powder problem. Black powder formation could be mini- mized by treating downhole, crude head- ers, scrubber outlets, and tank vapor gas lines with a corrosion inhibitor, scale in- hibitor, and biocide. Export gas lines and export crude lines should also be treated as well as the brackish water lines. Black powder, after its formation, could be re- moved by using an effective gas filtration and separation system (possibly a liquid/ gas coalescer) for fine particles and drop- lets below 5 µm (0.2 mils). Filtering the water that contains black powder and op- erational pigging continue to be important i n b l a c k p o w d e r p r e v e n t i o n a n d / o r mitigation. Conclusions This article discusses black powder for- mation, mitigation, and prevention, and highlights the following: • An inefficient TEG dehydration unit is a key culprit in black powder for- mation. • Moisture (or condensed water) com- bined with high H 2 S and CO 2 content in export gas pipelines causes severe corrosion, and the resulting products are re sponsible for incipient black powder formation. • Black powder formation in export gas pipelines is aided by process control optimization issues. Effective process control measures would enable the removal of acid gases, and effective monitoring of glycol absorber effi- ciency is mandatory. • An effective gas filtration and separa- tion system (possibly a liquid/gas coalescer) for fine particles and drop- lets below 5 µm is necessary as a pre- ventive solution. • Judicious materials selection, corro- sion control, and an effective clean- ing pigging operation are important components of black powder preven- tion and/or mitigation. References 1 A. Bhardwaj, et al ., "Characterization of Black Powder in Gas Pipelines," MP 55, 8 (2016). 2 NACE SP0775-2013, "Preparation, Installa- tion, Analysis, and Interpretation of Corro- sion Coupons in Oilfield Operations" (Hous- ton, TX: NACE International, 2013). 3 O. Olabisi, et al., "The Role of Bacteria Popu- lation Density in Wet and Dry Crude Asset Integrity," CORROSION 2015, paper no. 5534 (Houston, TX: NACE, 2015). 4 O. Olabisi, et al., "Identifying Key Perfor- mance Indicators for Corrosion in Oilfield Water Handling Systems," CORROSION 2014, paper no. 4348 (Houston, TX: NACE, 2014). 5 H. Fang, D. Young, "Elemental Sulfur Corro- sion of Mild Steel at High Concentrations of Sodium Chloride," 17th International Corro- sion Congress, paper no. 2592 (Houston, TX: NACE, 2009). 6 H. Fang, B. Brown, "Investigation of Elemen- tal Sulfur Corrosion Mechanisms," CORRO- SION 2011, paper no. 11398 (Houston, TX: NACE, 2011). 7 P. Kazemi, R. Hamidi, "Sensitivity Analysis of a Natural Gas Triethylene Glycol Dehydra- tion Plant in Persian Gulf Region," Depart- ment of Chemical Engineering, Islamic Azad University & Sahand University of Technol- ogy, 2011). 8 Engineering Data Book, 11th ed. (Tulsa, Okla- homa: GPSA, 1998). OLAGOKE OLABISI is on contract with DNV GL—Oil & Gas Inspection Division, Kuwait, Ahmed Al-Jaber St., PO Box 208420, Safat 13069, Kuwait, email: olagokeolabisi@outlook.com. He is a NACE International-certified Corrosion Specialist and Chemical Treatment Special- ist, was director of Internal Corrosion Engi- neering at Corrpro, and is now working on the Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) Internal Corro- sion Monitoring Services Project at DNV GL. He was the lead developer of the NACE Pipeline Corrosion Integrity Man- agement course and is a NACE instructor. He has a Ph.D., FNSChE, and published the Handbook of Thermoplastics, 2nd ed., in January 2016 with CRC Press. He is a 20-year member of NACE. SALEH AL-SULAIMAN is the team leader of Inspection and Corrosion (north and west) at KOC, PO Box 9758, Ahmadi, 61008, Kuwait. He is a mechanical engi- neer and has been with KOC since 1992, completed various NACE and API courses, and made many presentations at NACE and other conferences. He is a 14-year member of NACE. AMER JARRAGH is a corrosion specialist at KOC with the Inspection and Corrosion team. He is a chemical engineer and has been with KOC for 16 years, primarily involved in all aspects of internal and external corrosion. He is a NACE-certified Cathodic Protection (CP) Specialist, Senior Internal Corrosion Technologist, Coating Inspector Level 3, and API Piping Inspec- tor. He is an instructor for NACE CP1 and Internal Corrosion for Pipelines—Basic, and API 510 Pressure Vessel. He is a 14-year member of NACE. YOUSEF KHURAIBUT is a senior corrosion engineer at KOC with the Inspection and Corrosion team. He has been with KOC since 2001, primarily involved with inter- nal corrosion. He is a chemical engineer and NACE-certified Chemical Treatment Specialist, Senior Corrosion Technologist, and Senior Internal Corrosion Technlogist. He is a 12-year member of NACE. ASHOK MATHEW is a corrosion chemist at KOC with the Inspection and Corrosion team, email: ashokmathew40@hotmail. com. He has 32 years of experience in the chemical field, 16 of which have been devoted to all aspects of internal corrosion in coordination with the Corrosion Labora- tory, Research & Technology. He is a NACE- certified Corrosion Specialist and a 12-year member of NACE.

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