Inhibition of gas hydrates and corrosion behavior in gas field production facilities

摘要

Natural gas plays an essential role in satisfying the needs of energy in the world. Xushen gas field has been holding the balance of gas produced areas in China since exploitated in 2004. However, the exploitation effect in the field is challenged by the high-cold climate and amounts of CO_2 in natural gas. A study of heat-tracing measures for preventing the formation of natural gas hydrates and selection of stainless steel pipelines and high-pressure facilities to inhibit CO_2 corrosion behavior in the gas field production were performed recently. A case about the transportation technical limits of inhibiting the hydrates formation under different conditions was determined in this work. The results indicate that electrical heat tracing technology has better economic benefits than hot-water in the process of inhibiting the gas hydrates, the principal reason of corrosion are CO_2 from the natural gas and Cl~- in the produced water. When the differential pressure of CO_2 is above 29psi, it is promising that the steel should have exchanged to 316L as the corrosion resistant material. This study is beneficial to comprehend corrosion mechanism and facilitate the development and application of innovative anticorrosive material in gas field production facilities.