Yokogawa has long time been focusing on optimization of chemical injection process which is vital in almost all process industries. Research has been made to identify the existing problems in chemical injection applications, based on which a unique product solution named FluidCom was developed.
This paper addresses the challenges faced in Upstream and Downstream industries in terms of corrosion and how this corrosion threat is mitigated using Chemical injection systems and suggest the best practices and solution to optimize chemical injection system, while significantly reducing the CAPEX and OPEX. Also a reliable closed loop flow control can be achieved for chemical injection dosing application and as a result tighter and efficient control of corrosion.

The integrity of new pipeline projects is critical to Saudi Aramco to avoid any short or long-term impact on the supply of energy. During construction activities, pipeline internal welding inspection is carried out in compliance with international and Saudi Aramco requirements. The visual inspection of internally cladded girth welded pipes requires extra care to avoid any improper field fabrication errors during welding, especially at the root pass area. Such errors can limit the inspection capability and compromise the integrity of pipeline network with possible degradation of corrosion resistance at/near the weld rot, resulting in premature failures. Currently, projects utilize conventional tools such as borescope which is time consuming with limited inspection capabilities (up to 150 meters inside the pipe) and system maneuverability at inspection locations.
The Saudi Aramco Inspection Department enhanced their active inspection technology program and collaborated with a local technology developer. They trialed a wireless crawler robot, which is a high resolution remotely operated robot capable of inspecting internal girth welds with 5000 meters travel capability inside the pipes. The robot can inspect internal girth welds in the field, and inside pipelines with internal diameters of 6 inches and above, and wirelessly transmits the visual inspection results to the outside control room for a timely assessment and critical decision making. The internal visual inspection with wireless crawler robot will help in improving the project progress, reducing repair costs, by identifying defective welds before coating application.

With increasing oil & gas demand and depletion of sweet reserves, oil & gas companies in the regional
economies are focusing towards the exploitation of sour resources. This necessitates the use of pipelines
and down-hole tubing made from special steels with significant resistance to hydrogen-induced cracking
(HIC). These steels are produced through specific technologies for enhanced chemical composition control
and microstructural engineering to incorporate the required strength, weld ability and improved HIC
resistance. It is well established that the HIC initiates at sites with microstructural heterogeneities whether
due to presence of gross nonmetallic inclusions or the micro-structural constituents. The presence of central
segregation further aggravates the conditions particularly when the final pipe sizes require the longitudinal
slitting of the coils. Presence of non-metallic inclusions in the steel makes it vulnerable to hydrogen-induced
cracking under wet H2S environment. The mechanism of HIC begins with the generation of hydrogen atoms
by corrosion reaction of H2S and Fe in the presence of free water. The hydrogen atoms then diffuse into
steel and accumulate around the inclusions. The higher number of inclusions equates to the more sites
available for hydrogen adsorption. Recombination of hydrogen atoms to H2 molecules builds up a heavy
gas pressure in the interface between matrix and inclusions. Cracking initiates because of the tensile stress
field caused by hydrogen gas pressure and crack propagates in the surrounding steel matrix. The
longitudinal slitting exposes the internal microstructural abnormalities to the skelp edges which are then
incorporated in the thermally stressed weld zone. While the post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) mostly
homogenizes the weld zone microstructure, the presence of excessive central line features cannot be
completely removed thereby making this zone more prone to HIC attack