In-person Technical Presentation

Ali Morshed : “Why Effective MIC Control is Still a Major Challenge in the Industry”

Lancaster Hall hotel, Bayswater, London, 6.30pm.  Refreshments and networking 7.30-9.00pm

Abstract:        

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) still remains as a major integrity threat and cause of failure for many upstream, midstream and downstream, oil and gas assets – in spite of the continuous technological advances in the areas of oilfield microbiology, metallurgy and chemicals.

MIC can be defined as corrosion influenced by the presence, or activity, of microorganisms. Such microorganisms can cause corrosion problems for various oil and gas assets either directly or indirectly. The corrosion damage inflicted by them is considered direct when they create or further increase the environment’s corrosivity (e.g., by acid production through their metabolism). The damage is considered indirect when they attack, deteriorate or weaken, a corrosion control measure already in place, thus further promoting corrosion. Such affected corrosion control measures include surface coatings and some corrosion control chemicals such as certain types of oxygen scavengers.

Locations or systems most susceptible to bacterial contamination and MIC include, but are not limited to:

• Sea water injection
• Fire water
• Drains
• Cooling water
• Sand wash water (where treated sea water is used to wash the sand accumulated in various pressure vessels)
• Water displacement systems (where treated sea water is used to empty a product storage tank)
• Wet product transfer pipelines
• Wet product storage tanks

The important caveat regarding MIC is that prevention is always better than cure, because microbial control once lost, may take years to restore, if at all!

Extensive field experience from both the UK’s North Sea sector and the Persian Gulf region indicates that the main root cause of the encountered MIC leaks, failures, and issues, has been either the total lack, of or inadequate, knowledge and expertise in relation to bacterial and MIC basics and fundamentals among the pertinent personnel.

More precisely, MIC incompetency has been the main culprit behind the encountered MIC leaks and failures. In general, the observed MIC incompetency can be divided into the following four subject areas:

1. Bacterial nourishment and growth conditions
2. Bacterial and MIC monitoring
3. Bacterial and MIC assessment
4. Bacterial and MIC control

The last three items, when are incorporated with each other comprise the overall bacterial and MIC mitigation process, as was mentioned earlier.

Simultaneously, it has also been observed that oil and gas assets which successfully managed and controlled the MIC integrity threat were the ones whose relevant personnel possessed adequate MIC competency, mainly due to MIC training they had received.

While MIC incompetency remains the main root cause of bacterial and MIC problems, timely, practical, and adequate MIC training is regarded as the main solution and way forward for tackling the existing MIC issues for the oil and gas assets concerned.