Corrosion Management, Field Trial Results of High Pressure Black Bimodal PE100 HDPE Liner in a Super Gigantic Field Provides Innovative Strategy for High Pressure Water Injection Flow Line Internal Corrosion Management

Abstract

Internal corrosion in high pressure water injection flow lines is a very serious problem in the ADNOC super gigantic onshore fields. This issue has resulted in frequent pipe leaks and water injection flow lines outage which adversely affected oil and gas production due to failure in meeting the required water injection. This paper illustrates successful cost efficient innovative application strategy of the HDPE Liner technology in mitigating internal corrosion problems in water injection flow lines. Innovation centers of some petrochemical companies have now made available "BIMODAL PE100 POLYETHYLENE" materials which are suited for high pressure pipes and able to provide extra flexibility and safety in case of surface scratches in highly deviated flow lines. This paper presents the detailed preparation of the HDPE material, installation, intensive monitoring program, results and integrity challenges of the technology validation in 3km pipeline. A rolling machine reduced the OD of HDPE liner by 7% before drawing into the flow line by a pulling machine, the HDPE OD expands back to full size to give a tight fit in the flow line after sometime. The field trial was initiated in June of 2011 and actual installation completed in two weeks. The Liner conditions were monitored from 2011 through 2017. The flow line section protected with HDPE liner still operates in excellent conditions without any sign of corrosion up till date. This is a technology break through that eliminated internal corrosion threats with huge Opex savings in chemical treatment programs as no chemicals were applied. This Technology is now at the implementation stage in the ADNOC super gigantic onshore field. The paper elaborate on the value added to the company and possible areas of application of the technology for maximum benefits. Finally, this technology has clear impact on the internal corrosion management process that guarantees proper flow line long-life innovative design strategy and provides alternative solutions to conventional flow line designs.