Corrosivity relationship for management of buried pipelines: A case study of Rivers state, Nigeria

Abstract

Control and management of corrosion have always been the concern of oil and gas asset management teams due to the challenging outcomes of failed facilities in service due to corrosion. Corrosion has an impact on human safety, environmental safety, and productivity; thus, it is important to know how corrosive an environment is in order to make the best investment decisions for facilities that are prone to corrosion. There are various ways of identifying environmental corrosivity, but there is no distinct map or relation with combined soil pH and resistivity impact unique to an environment that suggests the corrosion severity of such an environment, which could be due to the complexities of variables involved in defining the extent of corrosivity. This research aims to create a corrosion map using the MATLAB computing environment for Rivers State, a mega oil-producing state in the Niger Delta, based on soil resistivity and pH across different parts of the state with ongoing oil and gas activities for the purpose of a quick look decision-making guide. To determine corrosivity, such a map should only need to identify the soil resistivity and pH of a certain site. The pilot test conducted using 40-point soil pH and resistivity data suggested that it is feasible to develop a unique corrosivity map for a region since the result showed an R-square value of 70.03%. However, possible constraints of the mapping process were discussed, as well as suggestions for a wider survey and improvement.