Flow Induced Top of Line Corrosion in a Wet Gas Pipeline - Corrosion Model Use to Improve Operational Integrity

Flow Induced Top of Line Corrosion in a Wet Gas Pipeline Corrosion Model Use to Improve Operational Integrity   Shihuai Wang, Bill Grimes Bruce Miglin, Damodaran Raghu   Shell Global Solutions (US) 3333 Highway 6 South Houston, Texas 77082   <>Abstract   An in-line integrity inspection revealed unusual, substantial top of line corrosion in a low flow, wet gas, moderately corrosive pipeline, despite apparently successful bottom-of-line corrosion control. Following the in-line inspection a root-cause corrosion investigation was conducted, including further detailed analysis of the inline inspection data, a failure analysis of pipeline cut-out samples, and a corrosion modeling assessment using the Shell developed HYDROCOR Corrosion Prediction tool. The corrosion modeling prediction, which provided a reasonable interpretation of where and why corrosion occurred, proved to be a major element in identifying the cause of the corrosion. Also, the corrosion modeling was key to identifying needed performance improvements for the pipeline corrosion control.