A Presentation on Pipelines – Material Selection in Oil &
Gas Industry
Types of Pipeline in Oil & Gas Industry:
Injection lines: Pipelines injecting water / steam / polymer / gas into the wells to improve the lift.
Flow lines: Pipelines from the well head to the nearest processing facility.
Trunk lines / Inter field lines: Pipelines between two processing facilities or from pig trap to pig
trap or from block valve station to block valve station.
Export lines / Loading lines: From the processing facility to the loading or export point.
Transfer lines / Spur lines: Branch line exiting into trunk line or export line.
Gathering lines: One or more segment of pipelines forming network and connected from the wells
to processing facilities.
Disposal lines: Pipe line which disposes normally produced water into disposal wells (shallow /
deep).
Subsea pipelines: Pipe lines connecting the offshore production platforms to on shore processing
facilities.
Pipeline Typical Flow Scheme – Export Crude (Fig. 1):
Fig. 1: Figure showing Pipeline Typical Flow Scheme – Export Crude
Pipeline Typical Flow Scheme – Export Gas (Fig. 2):
Fig. 2: Figure showing Pipeline Typical Flow Scheme – Export Gas
Pipeline Typical flow scheme – Offshore (Fig. 3):
Fig. 3: Figure showing Pipeline Typical Flow Scheme – Offshore
Codes used in Oil & Gas Industries:
Design and Construction:
ASME B31.4 – Pipeline transportation Systems for liquid hydrocarbons and other liquids
ASME B31.8 – Gas Transmission and distribution piping systems
ISO – 13623 – Petroleum and Natural gas industries Pipeline transportation systems
DNV –F-101 – Offshore Standard for submarine pipeline systems
Sour Applications:
NACE MR-01-75 – Sulphide stress cracking resistant materials for oilfield equipment
ISO 15156 – Materials for use in H2S containing environments in oil and gas production
Materials:
API 5L – Specification for line pipe
API 5LC – Specification for CRA line pipe
API 5LD – Specification for CRA clad or Lined pipe
API 5LE – Specification for Polyethylene line pipe
ISO 3183 – Petroleum & Natural gas industries – Steel Pipe
ISO 14692 – Petroleum and Natural gas industries – Glass Reinforced plastic piping
AWWA M – 45 Fibre glass pipe design
Pipeline Fittings:
ISO – 15590 – 1 Pipeline Induction bends
ISO – 15590 – 2 Pipeline Fittings
ISO – 15590 – 3 Pipeline Flanges
MSS – SP 75 – Specification for High test Wrought Butt welding fittings
MSS – SP 44 – Steel Pipeline Flanges
ASTM A 694 – Steel forgings for high pressure transmission service
Valves:
API 6D – Pipeline valves
API 594 – Check valves
API 608 – Metal Ball Valves
API 609 – Butterfly valves
ISO 14313 – Petroleum & Natural gas industries – Pipeline valves
Other Pipeline Components:
Pig launcher / Pig receivers
Barred Tees
Isolation Joints
Pig signallers
Corrosion monitoring fittings
Shrink sleeves / External coatings / Cathodic protection for buried lines
Corrosion Threats in Oil & Gas:
CO2 Corrosion (Sweet Corrosion) – General metal loss due to the presence of CO2 in the
process fluid.
H2S Corrosion (Sour Corrosion) – Localized metal cracking and corrosion due to presence of
H2S in the process fluid.
Chlorides and Bicarbonates – Cracking in the metal due to the presence of stress and chlorides
in the process fluid.
Corrosion due to Oxygen – Oxidation and metal loss due to the contact of metal with oxygen in
the process fluid.
Microbiologically induced corrosion – Bacteria that induces corrosion particularly within H2S
Erosion (Abrasion) corrosion – Corrosion due to the fluid flow and velocity within the pipe
environments.
Corrosion (External) Threats in the facilities – External atmospheric corrosion on above ground
lines and corrosion due to soil for buried lines.
Corrosion Under Insulation – External corrosion due to water ingress under the insulating
materials.
Material Selection Process:
Identify corrosion threats
Define the corrosion circuits
Calculate the corrosion rate per year
Calculate the Service Life Corrosion (SLC) based on design life
Consider the materials options
Carry out the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) – Capex / Opex / Install
Review the materials selection w.r.t design / operating / constructability
Finally select the choice materials
Corrosion Agents in Oil & Gas:
Carbon Dioxide – CO2
Hydrogen Sulphide – H2S
Oxygen – O2
Chlorides – Cl-
Water – H2O
Material Options
Metals:
CS with corrosion allowance
Stainless Steel
Duplex Stainless Steel
Super Duplex Stainless Steel
Metals + Lining:
CS with internally coated FBE
CS with internal PE lining
CRA clad / lined materials
Non Metals:
Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE)
Polyethylene (HDPE)
Advantages & Disadvantages of Material Options (Fig. 4):
Fig. 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of materials
Corrosion Control in Oil & Gas Pipeline Chemical Injections
Description: Purpose of injection
Corrosion inhibitor: Basically meant for CS pipelines, forms a layer of film on the
surface and protects the core pipe from corrosion attack. Batch injection or continuous
Scale Inhibitor: Prevents scale formation in the pipelines by dissolving scale forming
salts
Wax inhibitor : Dissolves the wax within the crude
Oxygen Scavenger : Reacts and removes oxygen in the fluid
Biocide: Destroys the bacteria , algae and fungi in the process fluid.
Coagulant / Anti foam: Normally mixed in the separators to improve mixing and reducing the
foam
Demulsifier: Prevents emulsion in the multiphase system
Dehydration agents: Removes moisture in the gas normally Glycol injection
Odorant: Added to the fluid to add smell and detect the leakage
Related Posts:
1. SOUR EXPERIENCES AND HICCUPS OF HIC: A Presentation
2. Selection of Pipes for a plant: An article
3. Materials for produced water systems: A short article
4. Corrosion Protection for Offshore Pipelines
5. Webinar on “What to do when corrosion plays favourites” on March 19th 2019
6. FORMS OF CORROSION: An article
7. An article on “APPLICATION OF ANTI-CORROSIVE LININGS & COMPOSITES” : Part 2 of 2
Carbon SteelCorrosionCorrosion ControlCorrosion PreventionCSDetail DesignMaterial databaseOffshore
PipingOnshore pipingpipelinepipeline materialsPiping LayoutPiping materialPIping Materials
CorrosionCorrosion Preventionmaterial selectionpipeline materialspipelines
PREVIOUS POST
“MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE PUMP PERFORMANCE”: A short article
― July 8, 2019
NEXT POST
Considerations for development of Plant Layout: A brief presentation
― July 9, 2019
AUTHOR: WANT2LEARN
RELATED ARTICLES
― August 18, 2019 | No Comment
