IPTC-18148-MS

A Novel Approach of H2S Corrosion Modeling in Oil/Gas Production

Pipeline
Utjok W R Siagian, H. P. Siregar, Ryan K Santoso, Damian D Salam, and Shieren Sumarli, Institut Teknologi
Bandung

Copyright 2014, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10 12 December 2014.
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Abstract
Corrosion is a critical problem during Oil/Gas production, especially in sour field, Hydrogen Sulfide is the
biggest contributor in the corrosion of production facilities. During the production period, pipeline will be
corroded with reaction between H2S and Fe. This reaction will be occured differently in various
temperature which determines the rate of your pipeline becoming thinner and thinner then will be unsafe.
This paper presents a study about corrosion phenomena in production pipeline in sour field by analyzing
the heat transfer to determine the corrosion rate in every part of the pipeline. An analytical model for heat
transfer is coupled with fluid flow model, frictional heat and considering the Joule Thomson effect for
steady-state condition. Then, from the analysis of the heat transfer, the corrosion rate in every section of
the pipeline, 300 ft, will be obtained. This corrosion rate is determined from the analytical model. This
model is applicable to be used in onshore and deepwater cases, depending on the surrounding condition.
Thus, the position in which corrosion happened worst can be located. Coating or doing material selection
for the several part of the pipeline could be a solution to prolong the age of the pipeline. Effectiveness is
about how long the coating or the material selecting would be placed. Then, it could finally contribute in
economical analysis about how much would be invested to reduce the impact of corrosion to assure the
better production.
Keywords: H2S Corrosion Sour Field Oil/Gas Production Diffusion Multiphase Flow

Introduction
It is a fact that corrosion is always happened during oil/gas production and there is nothing to do to
eliminate it. The only way to do is to make the process occur more slowly. Corrosion will damage
production facilities which are exposed by the fluid and surrounding environment containing corroding
agents such as H2S, CO2, etc. In this paper, the main concern is H2S as the agent which can trigger the
corrosion process happens. The existence of corrosion on the production facilities will disturb the flow
assurance and make the production cost increase. Corrosion will make the pipe wall become thinner, then
reduce the diameter of the pipe. Corrosion will also change the pipe roughness. Thus, these two occuring
phenomena will significantly change the flow characteristic, then damage the flow assurance. In order to

IPTC-18148-MS

ensure the flow assurance, preventive actions such

as pipe coating, injecting inhibitor, etc are always
done. In the other hand, all of those actions also
have to be considered from the economic view.
Thus, a right action has to be chosen to ensure the
flow assurance and also be economically done. In
this paper, authors develop mathematical model to
choose and predict the right action to be executed.
Authors also suggest pipe coating and material selection as a right solution to answer the flow assurance problems in that condition.
Figure 1Corrosion Process Model[2][5]
Corrosion will be happened if there are ferrum
and corroding agent (in this paper, the corroding
agent is H2S). Oil/gas production pipe is commonly
made from steel which contains ferrum and in the
several fields especially sour field, H2S is always
present. Thus, corrosion will be absolutely occured.
Neglecting the existence of H 2 S and acidichydrogen atoms outside the pipe, author describes
corrosion process happened in two consecutive phenomena, heat transfer then mass transfer. First,
when a production pipe has been installed in a well,
the hydrocarbon fluids (oil or gas) starts to flow
because there is a pressure difference between bottom hole and wellhead. When the hydrocarbon flu- Figure 2Corrosion rate vs concentration of sulfide (data by
ids begin to have contact the pipe wall, heat transfer Koteeswaran)[3]
phenomenon also starts to occur. This heat transfer
phenomenon is controlled by three factors, those are
pressure, temperature, and flowing fluids. Since the
pipe wall has been exposed with hydrocarbon fluids, mass transfer phenomena starts to occur. The
mass transfer phenomenon is controlled by two
factors: temperature and H2S concentration. When
H2S inside the hydrocarbon fluids begin to have
contact the pipe wall which is made of ferrum, the
corrosion reaction occurs, then H2S molecules diffuse to microstructure of the pipe. Finally, after the
Figure 3Production System of Example Case
combination of those phenomena happens, the pipe
wall will get thinner and damage the flow assurance.
Heat transfer phenomenon will be evaluated by combining the fluid flow and thermodynamics energy
balance equation. The fluid flow equation will be represented by Beggs and Brill Equation, a multiphase
flow equation for flow inside the pipe and also supported by Peng Robinsons Equation of State. The
thermodynamics energy balance equation will calculate the output and input energy and Joule-Thomson
Effect. Temperature and pressure profile along the vertical pipe will be extracted from the combined
equations. Pressure and temperature also contribute to control the distribution of H2S concentration along
the pipeline.
Mass transfer phenomenon here is diffusion phenomenon. H2S molecules experience three stages
diffusion, those are diffusing through the FeS - hydrocarbon suspension, diffusing through the solid FeS

IPTC-18148-MS

Table 1Production, Fluid Composition, and Heat Transfer Data

PRODUCTION DATA
Depth
Tubing OD
Tubing ID
Oil Gravity
Oil Viscosity
Production GLR
Gas Specific Gravity
Well Head Pressure
Well Head Temperature
Liquid Production Rate
Water Cut
Interfacial Tension
Brine
Pipe Type

3600 ft
1.660 in
1.38 in
36 API
5 cp
75 SCF/STB
0.7 (Air 1)
100 psia
80 F
758 STB/Day
10%
30 dynes/cm
1.05 (Water 1)
API 5L X-42

FLUID COMPOSITION
Components

Mole Fraction

H2S
CH4
C2H6
C3H8
i-C4H10
n-C4H10
i-C5H12
n-C5H12
C6H14
C7

0.2135
0.5309
0.1431
0.0857
0.0109
0.0261
0.0053
0.0081
0.0025
0.0009

HEAT TRANSFER DATA

Overall Heat Transfer
Coefficient
Ground Temperature Gradient

0.02222 Btu/(ft2 s oF)

0.017 F/ft

on the pipe wall surface and diffusing through the pipe to microstructure and reacting with the containing
Fe inside the pipe, as can be seen in fig. 1. This equation is a function of temperature and H2S
concentration. Temperature is obtained from the heat transfer model. Finally, using this two models,
corrosion profile along the pipeline can be evaluated.
After knowing the corrosion rate profile along the pipeline, we can evaluate position where corrosion
happens the worst. Pipe coating or material selection can be a solution to answer this problem. However,
further question arises, the corrosion prevention, such as coating and upgrading the pipeline material,
should be applied entirely along the pipeline or partially, so that the prevention becomes more favorable
economically. Coating or material selection will be addressed only in several parts of the pipe which
corrosion happens the worst. This action aims to make the constant corrosion rate in every part of the pipe
so there will be no change in flow assurance for several years. The combined mathematical model above
is also used to evaluate the effective length of the pipe to be coated or material will be changed so it will
not waste to much cost to prevent this problem.

IPTC-18148-MS

Assumption and Limitation

There are several assumptions used to develop the
heat transfer and corrosion model:
1. Heat transfer and corrosion phenomena are
steady state.
2. Environments temperature is classified into
several regional depth.
3. At the same depth, the environments temperature will be the same.
4. H2S is the only contributor in this corrosion
phenomena.
5. There is only single source.

Figure 4 Pressure Profile in Vertical Pipe

There are several constraints in this model. These

limitations exist because of the use of Beggs and Brill correlation[6] in heat transfer model which are:
1. Inner diameter of the tubing has range between 1 to 1.5 inch.
2. Gas Liquid Ratio should be below 5000 SCF/STB.
3. Water cut should be below or equal 10%.

Heat Transfer Model

To obtain expression for the temperature, H2S concentration and pressure of fluid in the pipeline which
are the components of the environment where the corrosion happens, we set up an thermodynamics energy
balance over a differential element of length, z, where z is positive in the downward direction. The law
of conservation of thermodynamics energy balance is written as below.
(1)
Where (mU)cv presents the internal energy inside the control volume; the second term in the left hand
side represents the change of flowing stream energy of the mixture; Q is heat transfer energy and W is
work done. Since the flow can be considered as steady state flow, ; no external work done on the control
volume, W 0 and the kinetic energy change and the potential energy change is calculated inside the fluid
flow model; the equation (1) is writing as:
(2)
By considering the Joule-Thomson effect, the enthalpy can be defined as the function of temperature,
T and pressure, P, over a differential element of length, dz, where z is positive in the downward direction.
The equation can be written as:
(3)
Where is mixture heat capacity and is Joule Thomson coefficient[1] that is calculated with (Alves et
al,1992):
(4)
Where is the density of the mixture. For single-phase flow of liquid, yg 0, yL 1, ; while for
single-phase flow of gas yg 1, yL 0, .

IPTC-18148-MS

Figure 5Pressure Profile in Horizontal Pipe

Figure 6 Temperature Profile in Vertical Pipe

The fluid flows through the tubing can be approached with the equation as follow (Beggs and Brill,
1973)[6]:
(5)

Noting that in both equations (2) and (5) have considered the effect of elevation gradient, which are
n equation (2) and in equation (5). Combining Eqs. (2), (3) and (5), the following equation is obtained:
(6)

If there are several pipe branches connected to the reference point, the conservation law should be
applied
(7)
As complementary, Peng Robinson equation is used to calculate the gas deviation factor. This gas
deviation factor will contribute in calculation of gas velocity, mixture velocity and density. The distri-

IPTC-18148-MS

Figure 7Temperature Profile in Horizontal Pipe

Figure 8 H2S Concentration Profile in Vertical Pipe

Figure 9 H2S Concentration Profile in Horizontal Pipe

bution of concentration of H2S which is dissolved inside the fluid in every section of the pipeline will be
calculated using this equation
(8)

IPTC-18148-MS

Figure 10 Corrosion Rate Profile in Vertical Pipe

Figure 11Corrosion Rate Profile in Horizontal Pipe

Corrosion Model
After knowing the environment which potentially trigger corrosion in the pipeline, using this corrosion
model, corrosion rate in every part of the pipeline, both vertical or horizontal, can then be calculated and
predicted. Inside this model, corrosion phenomena is described using diffusion process. The stabil reaction
between H2S and pipe is

From that reaction, the relation between H2S and pipe (Fe) can be represented by
(9)
Then, the whole corrosion phenomena will be described in three diffusion processes which each of the
diffusion process will be represented with an equation related to mass transfer[2][5][13]. The three steps will
be
1. Diffusion through oil/gas suspension layer[2][5][13]
(10)
where
2. Diffusion through solid FeS on the pipe surface[2][5][13]

(11)

IPTC-18148-MS

Figure 12Liquid Hold Up Profile in Vertical Pipe

Figure 13Liquid Hold Up Profile in Horizontal Pipe

(12)
3. Diffusion and reaction with the pipe[13]
(13)
All of the steps consecutively occur. It means that diffusion through oil/gas suspension layer has to be
occured first than followed by the next step. The combined equation will be
(14)
(15)

where in the early production rpipe

inner

After combining all of the steps, the corrosion rate profile along the pipeline can be known. It has to
be noticed that the surface area is inner surface area of the pipe and H2S gas is dissolved inside the fluid.
H2S is a polar molecule, thus H2S should be dissolved in the polar molecule fluid, that is brine/water.

IPTC-18148-MS

Because those processes happen in steady state condition and consecutive, during the process, the
concentration of H2S in the destination place will equal to zero. For example, when the first process
happens, the H2S concentration in the surface of the solid FeS will be zero because the H2S has not
reached the surface yet. Based on data by Neic et al (2008) [2][5], the value of the constants are
1. (mass transfer coefficient for H2S in hydrodynamic boundary layer in nearly stagnant condition).
2. 0.9 (porosity of the suspension).
3. 0.003 (turtuosity of the suspension).
4. (Arrhenius constant for H2S).
5. (activation energy for H2S).
From experimental data by Koteeswaran (2010)[3] and calculation using the model, diffusion coefficient of H2S in FeS can be approximated by the value 3.7 x 1010 m2/s.

Result and Discussion

To know the result of this model, the authors took an example data from the books of The Properties of
Petroleum Fluids (McCain)[10] and Petroleum Production Engineering (Boyun Guo)[9]
From that production system, we calculate all of the fluid flow and corrosion rate based on the wellhead
as the reference point. At the wellhead, because there are only one inlet and one outlet, the flowrate inside
the vertical pipe will be the same as horizontal pipe. Thus, the result in graphical form would be
In fig. 4, the pressures are plotted with respect to depth for vertical pipeline. The pressure vs depth plot
shows that the pressure increases as an increase in depth, where d is positive in the downward direction.
In fig. 5, the pressure profile along the horizontal pipeline is plotted as a function of length. The fluid
flows in the rightward direction, hence the pressure decreases as the length increases in the rightward
direction. In horizontal pipeline, the pressure drop along the pipeline is due to the friction and the change
of kinetic energy as a function of the flow regimes. In vertical pipeline, the increase in pressure where
proportional to the depth, is affected by the friction, the change of kinetic energy (flow regimes) and the
change of potential energy. Both of those figures (fig. 4 and 5) are derived from the results of heat transfer
model simulation. In addition, the temperature profile in vertical and horizontal pipeline as a function of
depth and length are provided in the fig. 6 and fig. 7, respectively. In fig. 6, the temperature increases as
the observation segment increases in depth. However, the temperature difference along the horizontal
pipeline is not significant as can be seen in fig. 7.
Inside the vertical pipeline, the concentration of H2S during the flowing of resevoir fluid are mostly
determined by the change in pressure and temperature. The change in temperature and pressure controls
the type of the flow regime. This flow regime will decide the liquid hold up fraction in certain section
which control the distribution of concentration of H2S. As the flow regime is reaching the distributed
regime, the liquid hold up fraction will be greater, then, the concentration of H2S will also greater because
there is much solvent dissolved by H2S, it can be seen in fig. 8. However, the behaviour inside the
horizontal pipeline is different. Temperature will not significantly change along the pipeline, but the
pressure profile shows a significant change along the pipeline. Thus, the liquid hold up fraction will
become greater if the pressure is still big enough to keep the gas inside the fluid. Because from the
wellhead to the end point of the pipeline experiences big pressure drop, the concentration of H2S will tend
to reduce, it can be seen in fig. 9.
As temperature and concentration of H2S play important roles to control the corrosion rate, increasing
in temperature and concentration of H2S will cause the corrosion rate becomes greater, it can be seen in
fig. 10 and 11. Thus, it can be seen that the corrosion rate varies along the vertical pipeline and remains
constant along the horizontal pipeline. The various flow regimes happen only in vertical pipeline because
along the vertical pipeline, the pressure change significantly as it goes deeper. In fig. 10, it shows that the

10

IPTC-18148-MS

worst corrosion activity happens along the distributed regime where contains much H2S and has high
environment temperature.
From the reservoir and production data, the required time to produce the hydrocarbon can be predicted.
Integrating with completion design data, the thickness and the length of the pipe is obtained. Hence, by
combining those data, the expected corrosion rate that makes the pipeline stands until the end of
production time can be known. Applying the derived model of corrosion rate in this work, engineer(s) can
predict the location or segment of the pipeline where the corrosion happens more than it should be.
Therefore, the corrosion prevention, such as coating or upgrading material, can then be addressed to such
location so that the cost can be minimized. Once prevention by using inhibitor is necessitated, the derived
model can also be used to select the most economical inhibitor. As a conclusion, the engineer(s) should
design the coating and material and inhibitior selection that prevails a constant corrosion rate along the
pipeline.

Conclusion
There are several parameters that affect the corrosion rate along the pipeline, which are pressure,
temperature, flow regime and concentration of H2S. Those parameters can be evaluated using combined
thermodynamics energy balance and fluid flow equation. In this work, a new approach by considering the
Joule Thomson Effect has been developed to accurately calculate those parameters. Hence, the predicted
parameters along the pipeline is provided.
Those parameters are then considered to evaluate the corrosion rate profile along the pipeline. By
implying the several modified mass transfer equations, corrosion rate along the pipeline, horizontal and
vertical pipeline, can be predicted. Therefore, corrosion profile along the pipeline is provided.
Corrosion prevention can economically be done. By considering the result of this model, engineer(s)
can predict several segments where the corrosion happens worst so that they can calculate several
segments requiring be coated or upgraded. Engineer(s) also can estimate those corrosion prevention action
whether it is economically done.
Nomenclature
internal surface area, f t2
Asurface
Ai
internal area of the pipe, ft2
mixture heat capacity, Btu/(lbm F)
concentration of H2S, M
cH S
concentration of H2S at pipe, M
CH S,i
interfacial concentration of H2S at the outer scal/solution interface, M
CH S,o
concentration of the H2S on the surface, M
CH S,s
CR
corrosion rate, mm/year
activation energy for H2S,
E,H S
ftp
friction factor
g
gravitional acceleration, ft2/s
gravitional unit conversion factor
gc
H
the change of enthalpy energy, ft Ibf
mass transfer coefficient for H2S, m/s
km,H S
Arrhenius Constant for H2S, mol/(m2 s)
ko,H2S
m
total mass at control volume, lbm
mixture mass flowrate, lbm/s
apparent molecular weight
Q
volumetric flow rate, ft3/s
2

2
2
2

IPTC-18148-MS

r
R
T
Tf
T
U
Ui
Um
usg
XH S
yg
2

YL

z
z

ns
Npipe
NH s
OD
P
2

g
L

11

radius, ft
universal gas constant, Pa m3/(mol k)
temperature, K
fluid inside pipe temperature, F
surrounding temperature, F
internal energy, ft Ibf
overall heat transfer coefficient, Btu/(ft2 s F)
mixture velocity, ft2/s
superficial velocity of gas phase, ft2/s
work done on the system, Btu lbf/s
H2S mole fraction
gas holdup
liquid holdup
depth
elevation increase, ft
Joule-Thompson coefficient
inclination angel with horizontal
mixture density, lbm/ft3
non slip density, lbm/ft3
total pipe molecules, molecules
total H2S molecules, molecules
pipe outer diameter, ft
pressure, psia
heat transfer energy, Btu lbf/s
gas density, lbm/ft3
liquid density, lbm/ft3
tortuosity of the suspension, fraction
porosity of the suspension, fraction

Acknowledgement
The financial support from Optimization of Pipeline Network (OPPINET) Research Consortium Institut
Teknologi Bandung (ITB) is gratefully acknowledged. Authors wish to thank to Corrosion Laboratory,
Metallurgical Engineering Study Program of ITB, Reservoir Fluid Laboratory, Petroleum Engineering
Study Program of ITB and Basic Chemical Laboratory, Chemistry Study Program of ITB. An extended
gratitute is also presented to Silvya Dewi Rahmawati, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D. and Mr. Farizal Hakiki.

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IPTC-18148-MS

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