Publications

PT. Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) operates offshore oil and gas fields since 1971. The PHE ONWJ operational area stretches from north Cirebon to Kepulauan Seribu, and as wide as 8,300 km2 Wet CO2 is one problem that causes corrosion. Since most production equipment is made of carbon steel, CO2 corrosion is a major concern that should be prevented to avoid repeated hydrocarbon release. Carbon steel has such extensive use due to the fact that it is cheaper and has good strength characteristics. The application of carbon steel for oil and gas flow lines and piping system depends to a large degree on either formation of protective corrosion product films or use of corrosion inhibitors. When the corrosion films do not offer complete protection, CO2 mesa corrosion attack can be growth. The mesa corrosion can be seen as deep and often flat-bottomed local attack on surfaces without protective corrosion film and covering a large surface area. In the mesa attack area, the local corrosion rate can be several mm/year. The edge of the mesa attack can be very sharp as it is surrounded by areas with intact corrosion films and low corrosion rate. The key point to prevent CO2 corrosion, especially mesa attack, is protecting metal surface contact directly with CO2. Ceramic lining offers complete CO2 corrosion protection. This method has been applied successfully to KA-4ST flow lines with high CO2 content. The application promotes good protection which shows no indication of internal corrosion at base metal and fitting area that were leaking due to mesa attack.