Importance of Coating Integrity Survey of Buried Oil and Gas Pipelines

摘要

Coating is usually applied as a primary corrosion control measure for buried oil and gas pipelines. Quite often, cathodic protection system is also applied in conjunction with coating to compensate for the anticipated imperfection/defects that may occur in the coating system during its application and service life. Upon completion of buried pipelines installation, most operators do not know the importance and advantages of regular coating integrity survey of their buried/submerged facilities. They pay little or no attention to the condition of the coating ignoring the fact that coatings will always deteriorate. This paper thereby discusses the importance of conducting regular integrity survey of buried oil and gas pipelines with practical analysis based on previous field experience.