The continued development of the oil sands in northern Alberta Canada has led to increased use of
thermal recovery methods such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAG-D) for extraction of the
bitumen from deep reserves. The transportation of this heated bitumen to the processing facilities
generally requires the use of insulated pipes capable of withstanding internal service temperatures as
high as 150oC. Based on existing Canadian regulations, it has been necessary to use anticorrosion
coatings under the thermal insulation on buried pipelines intended for petrochemical service.
Traditionally, anticorrosion coatings such as cold applied tapes, 2 or 3 layer polyethylene systems, and
also epoxy coatings have been available for insulated pipelines operating at temperatures of up to
110oC. The introduction of new heat resistant insulating foams capable of withstanding much higher
operating temperatures of at least 150oC has led to the need to also identify compatible anticorrosion
coatings.