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Influence of corrosion on casing strength
Corrosion can pose a major threat to the installations whether above or below ground. With particular
respect to casing, corrosion can impair the ability of the casing to perform its functions in two ways.
Firstly, metal loss will reduce the wall thickness of the casing and hence its capacity to withstand the
design loads. Secondly, corrosion can weaken the casing material so that it can no longer withstand
the design loads.
1 Introduction
The management of this threat is dependent on the following factors:
the awareness of all staff involved of the importance of corrosion as a factor in design;
the awareness of all staff involved of the importance of corrosion control during operations;
the feedback of corrosion experience both to guide immediate operations and to influence
design standards for the future.
In many Operating Companies specialist corrosion engineers are available to assist in all phases of
the corrosion management process. It is therefore the intention of this section to provide basic
guidance for the casing designer in recognising corrosion threats and in identifying possible solutions
that can be applied at the design stage.
internal parts of the production casing may be exposed to reservoir fluids e.g. beam pump
operations, a tubing/packer leak, or during workover and remedial operations. The intermediate
casing may be similarly exposed e.g. during circulating out an influx.
2.1 Introduction
The following provides a brief outline of the forms of corrosion which can occur in, but are not limited
to, casing.
2.4 Pitting
As casing corrodes, the resulting corrosion product may adhere to its surface thus limiting further
attack. Subsequent local layer breakdown due to electrochemical effects or physical removal can
expose bare metal to the electrolyte. This exposed area becomes anodic with respect to the
protected surrounding metal. Galvanic corrosion at these areas can cause pitting damage.
Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) can produce many forms of corrosion - general attack, pitting, hydrogen
embrittlement (HE), hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and sulphide-stress-corrosion cracking
(SSCC).
The first two of these are considered above. The last three are all related to the uptake of hydrogen
into the metal lattice.
2.10 Erosion/corrosion
Fast moving fluids and solids can strip a metal of its protective oxide, sulphide or carbonate layer.
The exposed surface then reacts to reform this protective layer and this cycle is repeated producing
a high rate of attack.
liable to lead to corrosion. For certain oil compositions evidence suggests that, even at levels of
about 1% water, corrosion can occur for velocities possibly as high as 6.5 ft/sec (2 m/sec).
To prevent corrosion in this part of a casing the same material selection criteria should be applied as
would be used for long life production tubing under the same conditions. No general rules have yet
been formulated to guide this choice and expert advice should be sought. Any possible requirement
for formation stimulation by acidization and its likely effects on the materials used must also be borne
in mind. For example, use of a stimulation fluid such as HCl may result in severe corrosion of CRA
tubulars.
The immersion of stressed, high strength casing materials in such an environment can lead to the
rapid and sudden failure of those materials due to SSCC. The ability of the casing material to resist
SSCC increases with temperature.
The risk of SSCC therefore increases with:
decreasing temperature.
The need to design for sour conditions will primarily depend on the wellbore pressure and the H2S
concentration.
The table below shows, for various well pressures, the H2S concentration above which sour service
materials are required.
The relationship between SSCC, heat treatment, and steel hardness has been documented by
laboratory and field service data. Since hardness testing is non-destructive, it is used by
manufacturers as a quality control method, and by users as a field inspection method. Although a
maximum hardness of 22 Rockwell C is specified by NACE, use of API grades up to and including
L80, which has a maximum hardness of 23 Rockwell C, is accepted based on laboratory evaluation
and field experience.
Materials which do not meet this hardness requirement, generally all steels with a minimum yield
strength greater than 80,000 psi (551,600 kPa), can be qualified for sour service using laboratorybased testing procedures. NACE document TM 0177-90 describes four such SSCC resistance
testing procedures. The first of the procedures - known as the NACE Standard Tensile Test - is most
commonly applied, although there is discussion within the oil industry as to which of the four test
methods is most suitable and reliable. The NACE Standard Tensile Test requires demonstration that
the material is resistant to SSCC at an applied level of tensile stress. It is the purchaser's
responsibility to specify the required stress level. Manufacturers typically supply proprietary, i.e. nonAPI sour-rated materials having minimum yield strengths of 80,000 psi (551,600 kPa) and above,
which have been qualified using the tensile test at 80%, 85%, or 90% of the minimum yield strength.
The second test method - known as the NACE Standard Bent Beam Test involves stressing the
sample specimen beyond its yield strength. A critical stress (Sc) value is calculated from the test data
and is used to relate resistance to SSCC.
Manufacturers should demonstrate the ability of their material to reach the minimum Sc values
indicated in the table below:
It is important to note that proprietary sour service materials qualified by the NACE Standard Tensile
Test method only cannot necessarily be safely used to their full minimum yield strength under sour
conditions.
It is current policy therefore, to require qualification using more severe testing methods. Results of
the NACE Standard Tensile Test are not considered an adequate guide to field performance. Whilst
alternative tests are being investigated, the Bent Beam Test is currently recommended.
To illustrate the large number of proprietary sour service tubulars available, the table below shows
those products supplied with a 95,000 psi (655,025 kPa) minimum yield strength. Prior to the
inclusion of any of these products, or any other proprietary sour service materials, in a casing design,
satisfactory Bent Beam Test results must be obtained.
Manufacturer Product
British Steel Corp.BSC SR-95
DalmineD 95-SG
Mannesmann MW-95SS
NKK NK AC95, NK AC95S, NK AC95MS
SumitomoSM 95S, modified SM 95S
TamsaTC 95
VallourecC-95 VH-1, C-95 VH-2
KawasakiKO 95S
Lone-StarLSS 95 SGS
NSCNT 95SS, NT 95SSS
It is often argued that the control of mud pH or the use of H2S scavenging muds make the use of
such special casing materials unnecessary. However, studies have shown [206] that when the
wellbore is displaced to gas, drilling fluids cannot be relied upon to prevent SSCC.
The risk of SSCC decreases with increasing temperature. As a result, high strength, hence high
hardness, materials that are not qualified for sour service at low temperatures can be used in parts of
the well where the minimum continuous temperature exceeds 150F (65C). Still higher strength
materials can be used for minimum temperatures exceeding 175F (80C).
The application of casing materials in sour service conditions, where SSCC can occur, is
summarised in the following:
All temperaturesTemperatures above 150F (65C)and below 175F (80C)Temperatures above
175F (80C)
API Spec 5CT Section 1.3.2.2 grades:- J55- K55API Spec 5CT Section 1.3.2.2 grades:- J55- K55L80- N80 (quenched and tempered)- C95API Spec 5CTSection 1.3.2.2 grades:- J55- K55- L80- N80C95- P110
C95 (quenched and tempered) tested and manufactured in accordance with Dr-1-2/3[206]Quenched
and tempered proprietary grades with 110,000 psi (758,450 kPa) maximum yield strengthQuenched
and tempered proprietary grades with 140,000 psi (965,300 kPa) maximum yield strength
Note that selection of materials in accordance with the above table does not offer protection against
hydrogen induced cracking (HIC).
Where a corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) is to be used in a H 2S environment the NACE guidelines
are less reliable and expert advice should be sought
Alkaline brine (circulated into a well as soon as possible after completion) assists in corrosion
prevention but may be highly damaging to in-flow in certain types of reservoir. Such brines should be
selected only in close consultation with the Production Chemistry Department.
Particular attention must be paid to zones where H2S may occur, at a level above a partial pressure
of 0.05 psi (0.34 kPa) (the NACE MR.01.75 threshold and at temperatures below 150F (65C). Such
conditions can produce sulphide stress corrosion cracking (SSCC) in high strength casing steels.
Differences in levels of such dissolved gases between zones, or other differences in formation water
compositions can also lead to galvanic cells which further accelerate corrosion.
The primary barrier to corrosion is adequate cementation with a suitable cement which provides an
alkaline environment next to the steel surface. At a pH greater than or equal to 10 none of these
corrosives (H2S, CO2, O2) will cause attack. However, as even the best cement is considered
permeable the pH will stabilise at lower values, because of the interaction with the formation. Poor
cement jobs (or not cementing at all) can leave the external surface of a casing exposed to corrosive
attack.
If circulation problems occur preventing an effective cement job, and serious corrosion of the casing
is expected as a result, remedial action should be taken.
Whilst not routine practice some companies apply cathodic protection in special cases. If there is
clear evidence of the corrosivity of some formations, and there are no intervening strata of such low
electrical conductivity that the penetration of sufficient current to achieve cathodic protection is not
feasible, this approach can provide a means of preventing corrosive attack.
c. Conductor casing
Current designs for offshore platform wells and land wells involve having an open annulus between
the marine conductor or stove pipe and the conductor casing. This annulus inevitably becomes filled
with (salt) water which promotes oxygen corrosion on the outside of the conductor casing and the
inside of the marine conductor or stove pipe, particularly close to the water level. Where a marine
conductor is perforated near the mudline this problem is made worse by the inflow and outflow of
oxygenated sea water with wave and tidal movements. The design manual for marine conductors is
being updated to address this problem.
Possible solutions will include cementing the annular space to the highest possible level or sealing
the unfilled annulus against oxygen ingress. The former will ensure that any corrosion (of the inside
of the marine conductor or stove pipe and outside of the exposed conductor casing) which occurs will
be limited to the zone above the top of the cement and should be relatively accessible for inspection
(usually by external ultrasonic techniques). The latter solution would also involve resealing any
perforations of the marine conductor required during drilling.
At present, little is known about the long term stability of alternative "safe" liquids such as inhibited
water or gels (especially when oxygen is not also excluded) and they cannot be recommended.
d. Marine conductors
Internal corrosion of marine conductors is addressedabove. This section will deal with external
corrosion of marine conductors.
A marine conductor can be divided into three zones with different environments: a zone exposed to
the atmosphere, the splash zone and the submerged zone. All zones are subject to oxygen attack
which can take the form of general corrosion or pitting.
In the zone exposed to the atmosphere above the conductor guides, corrosion can be
prevented/controlled by painting.
In the splashzone, where corrosion is most severe because of constant rewetting of the steel,
maintenance coating of the conductor is difficult. In addition, coatings cannot withstand the sliding
forces as the conductor passes through the guides and coatings applied initially are scraped off.
Often no coating is applied for this zone but use is made of a substantial corrosion allowance.
Information concerning splash zone corrosion rates can often be obtained from jacket inspection data
available locally and these should be used to set the corrosion allowance. Guide damage and
difficulty in predicting the exact depth to which conductors will penetrate preclude the use of the
splashzone protection methods used for flowline risers.
In the submerged zone corrosion is prevented by cathodic protection and allowance should be made
for the conductors in the cathodic protection design for the platform.
Galvanic corrosion
If different metals are used within the same string (either for the casing tubulars or the couplings) or
adjacent casing strings, and are in electrical contact with each other via an annulus fluid
contaminated with a corrosive agent such as CO2, H2S or O2, galvanic corrosion might occur [201]
section 2.5. Under similar circumstances galvanic cells can develop between differently heat-treated
zones of the same material. For example "ring worm" attack can occur at the metallurgical different
zone produced at the transition between the end and body of a tubular during upsetting. Full length
heat treatment after upsetting avoids this problem. In general avoidance of contamination with CO2,
H2S or O2 should be achieved to prevent this form of attack.
deeper, high pressure and high temperature wells are being drilled, the well fluids
sometimes being very corrosive;
wells are being drilled in more and more remote areas and hostile environments (e.g.
deepwater and Arctic wells).
The first trend requires higher strength steel grades for casing. This represents a problem for sour
service. At present API is involved with a project to qualify C90 and T95 API grades for sour service.
The acceptability of these grades for use will be dependent on the qualification tests and criteria for
acceptance used. Until now, qualification for inclusion in NACE MR0175 has been based on the
NACE TM0177 tensile test at a stress level which is a proportion (e.g. 85%) of the minimum specified
yield strength. This is not considered acceptable since in practice stress levels higher than this level
may occur, particularly at couplings.
The current view is that the qualification of this and higher grades (100,000 psi (689,500 kPa) and
110,000 psi (758,450 kPa) minimum yield strength) for sour service should be based on the Standard
Bent Beam Test. It is realised that for some applications involving low amounts of H2S this may be
rather conservative.
Since the costs of repair and workover operations tend to be very high in remote areas and in hostile
environments, wells in such areas should be designed with the aim of low maintenance costs in
mind. If conditions are such that casing corrosion can be expected, it might be economically
attractive to spend more money at the design/initial construction stage to achieve corrosion
prevention than might be the case for wells in more usual areas and environments, in order to avoid
the future need for expensive repairs and workovers. This consideration might lead to the use of
CRAs for applications where normally low alloy steels are used.
Although the use of Fiber Glass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) has been widely accepted in many surface
applications, there is little experience with the materials downhole. Theoretically the material offers
excellent opportunities for both Capex and Opex reductions due to its light weight and corrosion
resistance over the life cycle. In practice, however, the low pressure rating and the sensitive
handling/make-up procedures make application difficult. However, it is perceived that as the
experience with and the development of the material increases more applications will be found. As
such the API is currently developing specifications for FRP products. At present the use of FRP
tubulars is mainly in shallow low pressure water disposal and gaslift wells.