Localized corrosion and mitigation approach of steel materials used in oil and gas pipelines – An overview

Abstract

Corrosion has a huge economic and environmental impact on virtually all facets of the world’s infrastructure, from highways, bridges, and buildings to oil and gas, chemical processing, and water and wastewater systems. In addition to causing severe environmental damage and threats to public safety, corrosion disrupts operations and requires extensive repair and replacement of failed assets. Localized corrosion of oil and gas pipelines occurs at discrete sites on the surface of the pipeline due to variations in the metallurgical, chemical and physical properties of these sites. This process of corrosion is extremely challenging and difficult to mitigate because it is very dynamic. Localized corrosion of oil and gas pipelines results in enormous economic losses and environmental damage. Although several mitigation techniques have been reported in the literature, a review on the mitigation of localized corrosion is lacking. The main objective of this review is to highlight the various available mitigation approaches of localized corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. Future challenges and research directions related to localized corrosion mainly in oil and gas pipelines are also discussed.