Steel pipeline is the optimum choice for transporting oil and gas due to its excellent strength,
material properties and cost. Some pipeline services require special attention to avoid
corrosion or erosion, e.g., corrosive water injection systems. To address this, internal liners
have been introduced, including cement-lined to protect the pipelines from such conditions.
Even though cement-liners enhance the reliability of the pipelines, there are still challenges
related to inspection. The inspection of cement-lined pipelines is difficult with in-line
inspection tools (ILI) due to surface roughness of the cement, which impacts the movement.
Also, the cement lining is too thick for the sensors of the ILI tool to measure the steel
thickness through the liner.
Cement-lined pipelines are frequently used for water injection system facilities where
common inspection techniques cannot be used due to inherent limitations. As safety,
reliability and continuity are important at Saudi Aramco operations, the team spare no effort
to ensure the integrity of these pipelines utilizing different inspection techniques. In 2017,
electromagnetic acoustic transmission (EMAT) inspection technology was utilized for the first
time on cement-lined pipelines at the water injection facilities. This paper describes the
capability and successful deployment of EMAT inspection technology.

The lengthy laterals of horizontal wells often pose microbiological challenges, as they provide more area to become microbially contaminated and require larger volumes of fluid and biocide for treatment. A Permian Basin oilfield has been experiencing MIC-related failures in its horizontal wells, which is of concern due to the associated high workover cost.   

Laboratory biocide challenge testing identified several common oilfield chemistries and combinations thereof as being effective against this field’s population of microbes.  However, aggressive applications of these products in the field neither delivered an effective microbial kill nor prevented the treated wells from experiencing further MIC and failures. 

An acrolein field trial was conducted on a set of problematic, microbially contaminated horizontal wells over a time period of approximately one year.  During this timeframe, these wells experienced microbial control for the first time, defined as meeting and maintaining microbial KPIs.  Additional benefits were realized as a result of acrolein, including a dramatic improvement in water quality evident as a decrease in iron sulfide and suspended solids, a clean-out of the wells inferred by an initial increase of solids post-acrolein, a decrease in the corrosion rate as indicated by a significant reduction in iron and manganese counts, a decrease in the well failure rate, an increase in production, and an overall cost savings associated with the application of acrolein.