Offshore oil comes from the ground in flow lines at high temperature, but then is rapidly cooled by deep water at low temperatures once it is in the subsea pipeline. For this precipitation of water  can be caused, which increases corrosivity and deposition of waxy substances also can be caused, both of which can jeopardize flow, system integrity and ongoing operations.

Producers saw the rate of flow and corrosion of pipelines as independent problems Until today. This InterCorr/Shell Global study will address both of these concerns and provide a common solution, says Etheridge. One of the problems currently experienced by deep water operators is that only limited monitoring options are available today and none has been proven in deep water service. The major purpose of the InterCorr program will be to integrate several monitoring capabilities into a single unit and verify their performance under simulated deep water conditions in advance of a field trial.

This program will develop an enhanced, multifunctional monitoring capability that integrates existing, high reliability technologies capable of monitoring corrosion and flow assurance. This system will be adaptable to subsea, pipe-in-pipe, insulated or buried flowlines. The program will also provide a demonstration of long-term system performance and reliability under simulated deep water conditions.

Effective corrosion monitoring and flow assurance of subsea flowline installations remains a challenge. In deep water projects, flow lines are the most capital-intensive parts of the project. In the Gulf of Mexico and many other field developments around the world, these lines are made from carbon and low alloy steels to minimize cost. However, to achieve this cost benefit, the carbon and low alloy steels must be adequately protected against corrosion by chemical inhibitors and must be monitored for sand erosion, scaling and organic solids deposition which jeopardize production.

Excessive deterioration or loss of flow can lead to lost production, failure, or the need for repair. The consequences in deep water can range from very expensive to cost prohibitive. Therefore, it is critical to develop pipeline monitoring capabilities for deep water systems.

Etheridge explains that the new monitoring and corrosion control system will be designed around the following anticipated requirements

• Continuous corrosion rate measurements and wall thickness data at multiple points of interest
• Rapid response monitoring capabilities for both general and localized corrosion
• Multi-functional capabilities that also include monitoring of flow, sand erosion and scale/organic solids deposition
• Effective, reliable operations in deep water subsea environments
• Interface with existing hardware systems for field production monitoring
• Reliable transmission of data at regular intervals using modern telemetry technology

Sponsors of the program will receive a preferred position over non- sponsors in terms of technology availability and cost. Consultants to the program will be Dr. Russell D. Kane, senior consultant, and Peter Pratt, sales manager, both with InterCorr. Combined, they bring more than 50 years of oilfield corrosion and monitoring experience to the program.

From- corrosionsource; K, Europe and Asia Pacific: Dr. Andrea Etheridge, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; North and South America: Dr. Russell D. Kane, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; "Shell Global Solutions" is a trading style used by a network of technology companies of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.