Oil field microorganisms cause highly localized corrosion on chemically inhibited carbon steel

Abstract

Carbon steel pipelines, a means for crude oil transportation, occasionally experience highly localized perforation caused by microorganisms. While microorganisms grown in laboratory culture tend to corrode steel specimens unevenly, they rarely inflict a corrosion morphology consistent with that of pipelines, where centimetre-sized corrosion features are randomly distributed within vast stretches of otherwise pristine metal surface. In this study, we observed that corrosion inhibitors (CIs), widely used for the control of acid gas (H 2 S, CO 2) corrosion in oil fields, also affect microbial growth and activity. Inhibited carbon steel resisted biofilm formation and underwent negligible corrosion (< 0.002 mm Fe 0 year −1), despite 15 months of exposure to oil field waters harbouring a diverse microbiome. In contrast, physical scavenging of CI in these waters led to severe and highly localized corrosion (up to 0.93 mm Fe 0 year −1) underneath biofilms dominated by methanogenic archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria. A sharp decline in CI concentration, as well as its active components, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), correlated with microbial sulfidogenesis. CIs are ubiquitously present in oil field waters and play an underappreciated role in microbial corrosion mitigation. Physical and biological scavenging of CIs may create local differences in steel inhibition effectiveness and thus result in highly localized corrosion.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion—more than just microorganisms

“…The effectiveness of these mechanisms, however, depends on the specific system’s conditions and the microorganisms involved. In some cases, they may even become ineffective (Dariva and Galio 2014 , Mand and Enning 2021 ) or act as a source of nutrients for bacterial growth (Edwards and McNeill 2002 , Fang et al 2009 ) Therefore, it is crucial to fill the knowledge gap regarding the mechanisms of action of corrosion inhibitors and bioactive agents, as well as their effects on the development and resistance of biofilms (Bridier et al 2011 , Bas et al 2017 , Kimbell et al 2020 , Tuck et al 2022 ). Despite progress over recent years, knowledge is still scarce and fragmented (Araújo et al 2014 , Huang et al 2020 , Silva et al 2021 , Lima et al 2022 ).…”

Metagenomic Investigation of a Low Diversity, High Salinity Offshore Oil Reservoir

“…Quorum sensing is the ability for cell-to-cell communication for gene regulation, and is an important capability governing the establishment of multi-cellular associations such as biofilms [90]. In the context of oil and gas operations, quorum sensing and biofilm formation have both been reported as prerequisites to microbially influenced corrosion [91].…”

Electrochemical Corrosion Behaviour of X70 Steel under the Action of Capillary Water in Saline Soils

“…Moreover, several studies have demonstrated that many factors significantly affect steel corrosion in saline soils. These factors include soil moisture content [ 11 ], pH [ 12 , 13 , 14 ], ion concentration [ 15 , 16 , 17 ], and the presence of microorganisms [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Han et al found that corrosion rates increased as the pH of contaminated silty soil decreased [ 24 ].…”