Technical library
Papers and articles about corrosion control
and cathodic protection science

(2007) by R Baxter, J Britton (DWC In-House) Abstract: This paper is a basic introduction to the scientific concepts behind cathodic protection. Intended for internal training, the topics covered are: anodes, cathodes, sacrificial or galvanic cathodic protection, impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP), the basic chemical formulas describing cathodic protection, testing and monitoring a CP system ...

(1993) by Jim Britton (from CORROSION 93) Abstract: In recent years there has been a far greater emphasis placed on quality assurance / quality control within the oil and gas industry, this has filtered down to the cathodic protection supply sector within the offshore market. The need for quality aluminum anodes is obvious especially when deep water projects are being considered. This trend toward higher quality control levels has resulted in more third-party inspection work and better defined quality-test procedures ...

(2004) by J N Britton Abstract: As offshore structures around the world are aging and in many cases reaching the end of their useful lives, operators are looking for ways to reduce costs on subsea maintenance without increasing risk of failure. This paper presents three case histories of platform and pipeline retrofits where innovation in design and installation methods have resulted in successful CP retrofits ...

(2001) by Binder Singh, Jim Britton Abstract: The management of corrosion and integrity for offshore applications has become more critical as deepwater exploration and production continues. There are many challenges ahead, the most important being that the scope for error is greatly reduced. Repair, retrofit or replacement all become that much more difficult and costly due to logistics. This paper presents a new Risk Based Corrosion Integrity Management (RB-CIM) methodology ...

(2002) by J N Britton (DWC In-House) Abstract: Corrosion at pipe supports is one of the leading causes of process piping failure. This paper will discuss the various corrosion mechanisms that occur at pipe supports. A proven method of prevention with 15 plus years of successful application will be presented. The paper also discusses inspection strategy and provides a simplified visual screening method ...

(1998) by Jim Britton from Pipeline and Gas Journal During routine inspections of offshore oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, a recurring problem has been noted, namely corrosion on piping systems which often leads to a piping failure. Why are pipe support points prone to such localized corrosion and what can be done to prevent it? Deepwater's own I-Rod brand of pipe supports tackles this nagging problem ...

(2003) by RE Baxter, J Britton (from Corrosion 2003) Abstract: The rapid growth in the deep-water production sector worldwide has spawned a whole new generation of floating production equipment. This paper will deal with some of the unique corrosion challenges presented by these production systems and how corrosion is being managed using innovative coatings, cathodic protection designs ...

(2006) Technical Bulletin: Deepwater Corrosion Services, Inc. was commissioned in 2004 to develop a pile anode strong enough and reliable enough to survive the deep freezes of the Cook Inlet, Alaska. The result was the Raparound pile anode. Now in the midst of the third winter in service, the Raparound is the only CP solution on the market for such harsh conditions.

(2002) by J N Britton (from NACE Western) Abstract: FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) structures present some interesting cathodic protection challenges. Are they ships or floating production platforms? Is impressed current the way to go? How do we handle the ballast tanks? What about the mooring systems? Can the systems last 25 years without dry dock maintenance? These and a number of ...

(2001) by J N Britton (from Corrosion 2001) Abstract: It has long been recognized that an impressed current design can offer significant economic advantages over galvanic anodes on certain types of offshore platforms that require a cathodic protection retrofit. In many cases however, these advantages have been cancelled out by poor performance of impressed current systems. This paper will review some ...

(1999) by J N Britton (from Corrosion 99) Abstract: Deepwater offshore structures are now quite common, however a deep water development project still requires significant capital investment on the part of the operator. Corrosion failure is not acceptable. This paper presents a common sense approach to cathodic protection design on deep-water projects. Some practical tips for avoiding pitfalls are ...

(1999) by Jim Britton and RE Baxter (1999) from Corrosion99 Abstract: There have been a good number of deep water projects completed in the Gulf of Mexico over the last 10 years, and the types of structures deployed has varied widely, from fixed platforms, floating production systems, tension leg platforms, subsea completed systems, pipelines and umbilicals. This paper will discuss some practical guidelines which will ensure the success of cathodic protection systems in these environments ...

(2004) by J N Britton Abstract: This paper describes several common modes of early coating failure that lead to corrosion problems on offshore platforms. Symptoms are analyzed and solutions presented. The work is based on the examination of two offshore platforms that had been in service for less than 18 months.

(2006) by R E Baxter and W E Jamrock Abstract: An Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) system utilizing local and remote anodes was installed for a ship-loading facility in Quebec, Canada, subjected to extreme ice loading conditions, tides, changing water resistivity, ship traffic and dredging operations. The new system would reduce the number of locations where cables passed through the ice zone, and locate the anodes so they wouldn't be subject to damage during the spring thaw.

(2002) by J N Britton Abstract: Many offshore structures, platforms and pipelines, will require a cathodic protection retrofit in the next several years. This paper describes some concerns associated with retrofitting aging cathodic protection anodes offshore. A lot of the ideas and case studies are further explored in the 2004 Paper: Offshore Cathodic Protection System Management: A 21st Century Approach.

(1998) by Jim Britton (1998) from Corrosion98 Abstract: Historically, cathodic protection (CP) surveys of offshore platforms have been comprised of a number of steel to seawater potential measurements recorded at selected points on or around the structure. Little or no emphasis has been placed on evaluation of the "resilience" of the CP system; i.e. how hard is the system working, how efficiently, and how much longer will it continue to provide efficient protection ...

(2010) by Rodrigo Himiob (from World Pipelines Magazine - February) It is very important to retrofit pipelines that are coming of age, mainly, pipelines that have reached their original CP design life but will continue to be used for a given number of years. The information required in order to perform a CP life extension consists of the following: pipe diameter, length of pipeline, coating type, the age of the pipeline (construction year), operating temperature, is the line buried or not, water depth, desired life extension (years).

(2008) by J N Britton and D Baxter (from EuroCorr 2008) Abstract: This paper discusses the practicalities of installing replacement cathodic protection to aging offshore pipelines using diver assisted and diver-less systems. Current technology for condition assessment and life extension design criteria will be discussed in conjunction with new hardware technologies being utilized to improve ...

(2006) by J N Britton (from Corrosion2006) Abstract: New deep-water discoveries combined with current high energy prices have given much of the world's aging offshore infrastructure a new lease on life. Offshore pipelines in particular are at the highest risk of catastrophic external corrosion failure if their cathodic protection systems are allowed to fall into disrepair. Newly developed survey methods ...

(2002) by Jim Britton (from Corrosion2002) This paper was originally written in 2002. Mr. Britton has since written an updated version to address the changes in corrosion control technology for anode replacement that has taken place in the interim. Abstract: Many miles of offshore pipelines worldwide are reaching, or have exceeded, the original design life of their cathodic protection systems. Many of these pipelines will be required to function for another 10, 15 or even 20 years ...

(2001) by J N Britton Abstract: The external corrosion control of offshore pipelines has, for many years, been accomplished with pipe coatings supplemented with galvanic cathodic protection in the form of zinc or aluminum anode bracelets. This basic methodology works equally well in deep water as it does in shallow. There are however some very important differences in the way corrosion control ...

(2001) by M Surkein, S Leblanc, S Richards, J P LaFontaine (from Corrosion 2001) Abstract: A subsea pipeline has been installed with a novel corrosion protection scheme. The pipeline and associated components have been protected from corrosion with a combination of a high temperature pipeline fusion bonded epoxy coating, a thermal spray aluminum coating and sacrificial cathodic protection anodes. Due to ...

(1998) by Jim Britton (1998) from Hart's Pipeline Digest Over 24,000 miles of pipeline have been laid on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico since 1948. Over the years, much of this pipeline has been abandoned or removed, but as of June 1997, there were still some 17,000 miles of active pipe. Pipe-laying activity has been up and down over the years, somewhat mirroring the "boom and bust" cycles of the oil and gas industry ...

(1999) by J N Britton (Offshore Pipeline Technology Magazine) The homogeneous nature of the subsea environment helps make corrosion control systems more reliable than those onshore. With the Gulf of Mexico's pipe line infrastructure getting older, it makes sense to conduct a detailed, effective cathodic protection (CP) survey of the entire system before external corrosion can start taking place ...

(1996) by Jim Britton (1996) from Offshore Magazine Corrosion control for offshore pipelines is typically achieved with a combination of pipe coatings supported with cathodic protection to cover coating holidays or defects. The nature of offshore pipelines dictates that the most cost effective and reliable method of providing the cathodic protection component is the use of zinc or aluminum alloy bracelet anodes. This method has served the pipeline industry well for many years ...

(2003) by J N Britton (DWC In-House) Abstract: For many years the offshore industry has relied on the trailing wire survey method to perform close interval surveys on offshore pipelines, the main reason for the popularity of this method is economic. Many operators have recognized the lack of quality data from such methods, but have had little in the way of cost effective alternatives ...

(1994) by J N Britton Abstract: In the Gulf of Mexico and many other operating areas the measurement of cathodic protection potentials on offshore structures is a regulated activity. Thus, since it has to be done, it makes sense to get as much benefit from the survey as possible. In the majority of cases this is not being done. I will describe here some fundamental requirements for accurate surveys as well as some new approaches to the task which greatly enhance the survey value at little or no additional cost. ...

(2000) by J N Britton, J P LaFontaine, G T Gibson (from Corrosion 2000) Abstract: Offshore production facilities and pipelines are being installed in new, more hostile environments. Advances in Cathodic Protection Monitoring for new structure types in deepwater as well as for high temperatures are discussed. New portable ROV instrumentation as well as permanent monitoring of parameters affecting the CP ...

(2005) by Jim Britton, part 2 addendum to the original paper, written in 1989 Abstract: In many cases it is not the actual water depth but rather the nature of the production hardware that determines optimum maintenance and inspection strategies of CP systems. Here the newest available innovations for CP monitoring in deep water will be discussed ..

(1989) by Jim Britton, the original paper, written in 1989 Abstract: In many cases it is not the actual water depth but rather the nature of the production hardware that determines optimum maintenance and inspection strategies of CP systems. Here the newest available innovations for CP monitoring in deep water will be discussed ..

(1999) by Jim Britton from UI New Orleans Abstract: Many of the new deepwater fields are beyond diver depth range leaving the ROV as the only option for performing inspection tasks. This has required that new inspection techniques and equipment are developed to meet the challenges. This paper describes and documents some of these new techniques and the equipment used ...

(2001) by John P. LaFontaine, Todd C. Cowin, John O. Ennis (from Materials Performance Magazine) Abstract: The introduction of subsea pipelines in the Arctic Ocean has provided an opportunity to collect accurate steady state polarization data in this environment. In order to record this data, a cathodic protection monitoring system was designed and installed on a recently built pipeline in the Beafort Sea. The system includes sensors to measure a range of parameters including anode current output, pipeline potential, current density and temperature ...

(2000) by J Lafontaine, J Britton (from NACE Western) Abstract: Pipelines and structures located offshore of Alaska face unique challenges to monitoring cathodic protection. Advances in Cathodic Protection Monitoring technology are discussed. New portable ROV instrumentation as well as fixed monitoring of parameters affecting CP system performance are reviewed. Case histories from the southern coast ...

(2004) by J N Britton Abstract: This paper describes several common modes of early coating failure that lead to corrosion problems on offshore platforms. Symptoms are analyzed and solutions presented. The work is based on the examination of two offshore platforms that had been in service for less than 18 months.

(1998) by Jim Britton (1998) from NAVY Conference Offshore and marine operators, without exception, spend the largest part of their corrosion budgets on paint maintenance. The failure of a “well applied” paint system can be traced to a few basic failure mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are addressed in this paper.