EVALUATION OF ANTICORROSIVE COATINGS FOR TANKER WALLS TO TRANSPORT OIL IN A HIGH SALINITY ENVIRONMENT, IN THE PRESENCE OF TENSION, TEMPERATURE AND CO2

The offshore heavy oil project uses the FPSO structural tanks to act as oil separators (washing tanks) a vital requirement. These tanks operate with a continuous layer of produced water at high operational temperatures and high residence time, creating a critical corrosive environment. This condition is far beyond typical conditions for tankers and makes the development of a special test necessary to qualify paint systems for that condition. Traditionally the qualification of paint systems for PETROBRAS offshore units is based on NACE TM-0184 and ISO 20340 standards. But these standards have a test protocol based on physical/mechanical tests and corrosion tests. However, for this specific case, it did not suffice. Thus, a specific test was developed for washing tanks, which can evaluate simultaneously both corrosion and mechanical properties. This paper presents the development of a specific unpublished test to simulate the behavior of paint systems submitted to cyclic tension levels in coatings in very corrosive environments (high salinity, CO₂, and high temperature).