Work

Comparative investigation of localized corrosion failure in two types of gas field pipelines

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: A comparative failure analysis was performed on four pipeline samples—two from downhole tubing (DT1, DT2) and two from surface elbow pipes (EP1, EP2)—retrieved from a gas field in North China. Through integrated characterization involving macroscopic and microscopic inspection, mechanical testing, and corrosion product analysis (SEM/EDS/XRD), under-deposit corrosion (UDC) was identified as a common failure mechanism, driven by the scaling tendency of produced water. Distinct corrosion accelerators were identified between downhole and surface installations: failures in downhole tubing (DT1, DT2) were primarily accelerated by oxygen-enhanced pitting, whereas corrosion in surface elbow EP1 was mainly attributed to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). For the other elbow sample (EP2), the synergistic effect of hard-particle erosion and produced-water corrosion was established as the dominant failure mechanism.

Source: Results in Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2026.109635

Authors: Jian Li, Chen-Guang Fan, Yi-Xin Wang, Yan Zhang, Ming Zhang, Cheng-Li Song

Institutions: Xi'an Shiyou University, CNPC Tubular Goods Research Institute (China), China National Petroleum Corporation (China)

Language: English

Topic: Structural Integrity and Reliability Analysis

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,940

Funders: Xi'an Shiyou University, Key Research and Development Projects of Shaanxi Province