Investigation of the corrosion progress characteristics of offshore subsea oil well tubes

One of the most challenging issues in the offshore oil and gas industry is corrosion assessment and management in subsea structures or equipment. The aim of this study was to investigate the corrosion progress characteristics of offshore oil well tubes used in the production of oil in deep water. A direct measurement database of corrosion damage in terms of pit depth with age (time) in offshore oil well tubes was collated. The corrosion data were statistically analysed to identify the probability density distribution of corrosion damage with time. An empirical formula to predict time-dependent corrosion damage in offshore oil well tubes is suggested based on the results of the statistical analysis. Given that there are few corrosion measurement databases of subsea equipment used for offshore oil and gas production in the literature, this study should prove useful for assessing and managing corrosion damage in deep water offshore oil well tubes, which are key pieces of equipment in offshore oil and gas production systems. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.