Abstract
Consider a crude oil handling system, with various degrees of water separation/accumulation, which has been experiencing increased corrosion over a period of time. If the trend of increasing corrosion rate versus time parallels the corresponding trend of water separation/accumulation as well as bacteria population density over that same period of time, the pragmatic assumption is to ascribe the source of increased corrosion not only to water separation/accumulation but also to the increased bacteria population density. This paper investigates the role of water separation/accumulation and bacteria population density on general/pitting corrosion and asset integrity in wet and dry crude handling systems. The study is intended to offer a viable corrosion control metric for microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) such that the population of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), general aerobic bacteria (GAB), and general anaerobic bacteria (GAnB) in an operating environment can be kept below a target envelop to preserve asset integrity.
