This paper details the process followed to enhance the pipeline internal corrosion management during operational stage in a liquids-rich shale play, focusing on pipeline internal corrosion mitigation. The process involves several key steps, encompassing a thorough review of historical data (operational conditions, fluid chemistry, corrosion coupons, chemical treatments, pigging activities, inspection results, among others), meticulous data analysis, strategic scheduling, implementation of short-term, mid-term, and long-term actions, followed by periodic monitoring to evaluate barrier performance in conjunction with an inspection plan to confirm asset integrity and optimize resource utilization. The improvements have considered industry best practices, know-how, lessons learned, valuable insights gained from past failures, challenges encountered within upstream operations for corrosion and integrity activities execution, and the actions taken to overcome them.
The Eagle Ford Shale is a carbonate rich geological formation located in South Texas that is approximately 50 miles wide and 400 miles long. It is has long been identified as a source rock for the Austin Chalk and the East Texas Field but with the popularization of hydraulic fracturing became a key reservoir in the shale revolution. The Eagle Ford is uniquely different from other shale plays given its liquid rich production. Through significant development beginning in 2010, production reached a peak of 1.3 MMbopd, 4.2 BCF/d in 2015.1
Figure 1 shows the wells permitted and completed in the Eagle Ford Shale Play as of June 1, 2023, as reported by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).
In 2022, Repsol Oil & Gas USA, LLC (Repsol) was listed as one of the Top Ten Operators of Condensate, with a production in 2022 of 2,558,688 barrels.1
As of February 2023, Repsol operates 126,364 net acres, with average production of approximately 48,905 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the unconventional play2, in several counties including Live Oak, La Salle, DeWitt, McMullen, Karnes, and Gonzales.
Within this area of operation, there are more than 360 miles of buried carbon steel pipelines which require an optimal corrosion management strategy to safeguard asset integrity and ensure continuous production. These pipelines are mainly gathering lines, and some oil transmission and produced water pipelines.3,4
