Processing equipment for oil and gas treatments is often exposed to the sour environments containing wet
hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is a naturally occurring component of crude oil and natural gas. A large part of this
equipment is fabricated in Carbon-Manganese steels, which could be sensitive to wet H2S cracking.
Hydrogen sulfide is responsible for numerous embrittlement phenomena in steels, such as Hydrogen
Induced Cracking (HIC), Sulfide Stress Cracking (SSC), and Stress Oriented Hydrogen Induced Cracking
(SOHIC). Some parameters influence Carbon-Manganese steels behavior in sour service conditions, where wet
H2S cracking mechanisms can operate.
This paper provides recent experiences and HIC, SSC, SOHIC results on sour service resistant steel plates
for pressure vessel construction. The effects of chemical composition, steel fabrication, heat treatments and steel
plate’s thickness on cracking resistance in sour service environments containing wet hydrogen sulfide are
analyzed. Optimized solutions for wet H2S service resistant steels are suggested.
Keywords: Oil and Gas Treatment, Wet Hydrogen Sulfide, Carbon-Manganese Steels, Hydrogen
Induced Cracking, Sulfide Stress Cracking, Stress Oriented Hydrogen Induced Cracking