Agenda

Corrosion remains a constant risk to system operability and integrity. Many production chemistry applications have associated, insidious corrosion threats. Many standard dissolver chemistries rely on aggressive, acidic solutions which are equally detrimental to nominally corrosion resistant alloys. The development of an improved low corrosivity sulphate/sulphide scale dissolver will be described. Continuous inhibition remains critical for internal corrosion control in many oilfield applications. Evaluation of a novel additive for corrosion control in drilling fluids is described, examining its impact on fluid corrosivity and rheological properties. For production operations, a more systematic approach to the design and qualification of corrosion mitigation treatments is described. Another author revisits the inhibitor residuals detection and qualification debate, describing the development and validation of a new portable on-site method to eliminate much of the uncertainty with traditional colourimetric determinations. Mitigation of galvanic corrosion due to partial loss of protective cladding is also discussed, describing the development of a bespoke solution for this particularly high risk application. Chemicals are widely applied to mitigate the detrimental effects of the diverse corrosion mechanisms. For instance, corrosion inhibitors continue to be a primary barrier for internal corrosion control in oil and gas systems. Researches and studies have been continuously carried out to optimize the chemical treatment program. This session will focus on both new technology and recent developments to better align the laboratory selection, qualification and monitoring of chemical solutions with actual field applications.

Whether the business climate is favorable or challenging, the oil & gas industry requires new innovative solutions. New technologies can often unlock unexpected value and provide stability in an otherwise lean operation. Ideas that were unrealistic a few years ago are worth revisiting to see if they fit the new business climate. The innovation session covers examples of new mindsets within corrosion inhibition, microbial souring and biocide treatment and input to risk based assessment of corrosion under isolation.

How things turn out in practice often matters far more than what theory predicts will happen. It is said that "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Case studies are an great opportunity to find out what happened in the real world and how people developed real solutions to real problems.

Downhole corrosion is chiefly prevented at the design stage by building systems and wells which are sufficiently robust for the in situ operating environment throughout the well life cycle. In practice, it is mitigated by means of metallurgy, control of the well environment, separation of metallic surfaces from pertinent corrodents, and chemical injection, especially since corrosion monitoring is not as straightforward as it is for subsea and topsides facilities. Effective integrity management reduces the risk to people and equipment, reduces environmental risk, improves production uptime, minimises costs and hence safeguards the value of the investment. The subject is of particular significance in a low oil price world, as the O&G industry is called to face new challenges relating to high CO2, H2S, VFA, HP/HT environments and the predominance of subsea wells. All the more so, as downhole corrosion is not always apparent until after the damage has been done, while remediation costs can be very costly. With these in mind, this technical session focuses on developments on appropriate material selection and inspection methods for downhole conditions and how these can be applied to the holistic management of well integrity.