The statistics generated in Lake Maracaibo are unique in a number of respects; one of the world's highest corrosion rates; documentation of 111,000 leak clamps in 20 years; first computerization of a major corrosion control program; documentation of coated pipe without cathodic protection having a longer life than bare pipe; and one of the largest capacity pipeline cathodic protection systems.

Collection of statistics preceded analysis and formulation of corrosion control in Lake Maracaibo. Corrosion control on a 5,000 mile (8,000 km) gathering system was analyzed by the reduction in leak clamps per 100,000 feet (30 km) of pipeline. Coated pipe without cathodic protection outlasted bare pipe 16 years to five years. Cathodic protection cut the coated pipe leak rate in half as an average and up to 90% when the available cathodic protection current was not squandered on abandoned pipe or copper weld armor on submarine electrical cables. Optimizing pipe replacement resulted in a reduction of line replacement by over 20 fold. In 1988 dollars, a total of more than one billion dollars was realized in savings from the corrosion control program enacted over a twenty year period.

Subject
Risers, Coated pipes, Costs, Piping, Cathodic protection, Corrosion rate, Asphalt, Leaks, Pipelines, Cables, Corrosion protection, Copper, Risk reduction
© 1988 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1988
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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