Testing Requirements of Corrosion Inhibitor Qualification for Pipeline Applications

Full well stream carbon steel pipelines offer substantial cost savings over alternatives such as offshore gas dehydration or pipelines clad with corrosion-resistant alloys.  Such well streams are typically highly corrosive and a qualified corrosion inhibitor is required to extend the service life of the steel.  The qualified corrosion inhibitor must be compatible with production fluids, and not affect the performance of nonmetallic seals or the effectiveness of other process chemicals.  Testing procedures for the qualification and selection of corrosion inhibitors vary in response to the pipeline's fluid hydraulics, temperature, and pressure.  However, these procedures also vary because of the different specifications and implementation approaches employed by chemical suppliers and users.  This paper will cover a series of testing requirements that should be part of any corrosion inhibitor qualification and will emphasize the testing parameters most representative of the field conditions.