Impact of Prolonged Exposure to Sour Service on the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Mechanism of NACE Carbon Steel Material Used in Wet Sour Gas Multiphase Pipeline

Abstract

The oil and gas industry is involved with severe corrosive/sour environmental conditions due to H2S, CO2, and moisture content. The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) has developed standards to enable users to select suitable materials for given sour conditions which utilize laboratory testing. A failed piping sample (API-5L-X65) was removed from a pipeline after 15 years of service. Optical microscopy was used to compare the microstructure of the corroded sample near the exposed surface to both the service environment, and further away from it. Moreover, pitted samples were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDS) to understand the deposits’ morphology. Furthermore, XPS analysis proves the presence of a significant content of sulfur compound. Additionally, the mechanical properties of both corroded and non-corroded samples were evaluated and compared. Micro-hardness was carried out on the cross-section of the removed sample to understand any evident hardness variation from the inner diameter (ID) to the outer diameter (OD) of the piping. All the results suggest that prolonged service exposure has resulted in the development of micro defects, resulting in the reduction of strength and impact toughness, and the reduction in the hardness at the exposed surface of the corroded piping. Understanding the corrosion mechanism of pipelines exposed to sour media in the long-term helps in repair/replacement planning and extending the usable design life of the material, and paving the way for the oil and gas industry to develop additional ways to monitor the changes in the critical materials’ properties when exposed to sour service.