In the UK, there are strict regulations governing the use of production chemicals in offshore oil and gas
fields. Production chemicals are required to have a good environmental profile; during the last decade
many harmful products used offshore have been replaced with more environmentally friendly variants.
In oil and gas production, corrosion inhibitors are commonly applied to mitigate the corrosion caused by
acidic gases (CO2 and H2S) and environmentally friendly products are now widely used in offshore UK
oilfields. However, the performance of these products is generally limited by the system temperature. It
is commonly accepted that above approximately 90°C (194°F), the efficacy of these products is greatly
reduced. Therefore, considering that many new oilfields coming on stream in the UK are hotter than
this, there is a necessity to develop corrosion inhibitors that not only perform at high temperature but
are also environmentally friendly. This paper details the work performed to develop biodegradable
corrosion inhibitors that are effective above 100°C (212°F). The performance of these products in
preventing CO2 corrosion in the laboratory environment is discussed.
Key words: Corrosion inhibitor, green, environmentally friendly, high temperature