Effective corrosion monitoring of subsea flowline installations remains a challenge, yet the flowlines are the most capital-intensive parts of subsea and deepwater projects. In the Gulf of Mexico and many other field developments around the world, these lines are made from carbon and low alloy steels to minimize cost. However, an important aspect of the use of these steels is that they require adequate internal protection by surface treatments or chemical inhibition to achieve this cost benefit. Excessive corrosion leading to a failure, or even the need for repair, would result in dire economic consequences in deep waters. One of the problems currently experienced by deepwater operators is that there are only limited options available for monitoring corrosion, surface deposit formation and flow assurance properties within pipelines that can be installed subsea, where interest and needs are greatest. An effort is underway to develop an integrated flow assurance and corrosion monitoring system for deepwater pipeline applications. This paper describes the challenges and progress of taking existing and novel technologies into a deepwater environment.

Subject
Water, Sensors, Piping, Viscosity, Sand, Gas pressure, Wax, Acidity, Liquids, Flowlines, Deposition rate, Flow assurance, Hydrocarbons
Keywords:
Deepwater, subsea, corrosion, flow assurance, flowline, Gulf of Mexico, chemical, scale, wax, multiphase
© 2004 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).
2004
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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