Unconventional oil and natural gas shale plays in the United States have introduced unique challenges to all aspects of oil and gas production, including corrosion mitigation. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) has become a common cause of internal corrosion failures due to resulting low velocity, wet gas pipeline gathering systems. The origin of such microbes into closed production environments can be traced back to drilling of wells in which stagnant, dirty “frack pond” water is used to hydraulically fracture wells or from untreated water used for hydrostatic pressure testing of pipelines. Such gathering systems, particularly those in densely populated metro areas (e.g., the Barnett Shale), have come to require a significant amount of attention in regards to asset integrity, as well as U.S. government compliance.

This is a comprehensive field case study of the effectiveness of various biocide applications and chemistries in conjunction with CO2 acid gas corrosion inhibition and routine maintenance pigging on the largest wet gas gathering system in the Dallas-Fort Worth MetroPlex (i.e. the Barnett Shale). Routine monitoring with serial dilution culture techniques, representative of both planktonic and sessile bacteria, indicates successful mitigation of MIC with a combination of the continuous injection of an EPA registered biocide, frequent maintenance pigging, and the continuous injection of a corrosion inhibitor. 16S rRNA testing has confirmed the abundant culture data collected since colonies with the continuous injection of biocide, regular pigging, and continuous injection of corrosion inhibitor.

Subject
Corrosion failures, Water, Corrosion rate, Continuous injection, Pipelines, Bottles, Shale, Bacteria, Corrosion inhibitors, Pigging, Biocides, Microbiologically influenced corrosion, Samples
Keywords:
biocide, MIC, microbiologically influenced corrosion, gathering pipeline system, pigging
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2017
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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