Experience in mitigation of biocorrosion in oil fields

UDK: 622.692.4.076:620.193/.197

DOI: 10.24887/0028-2448-2025-12-149-152

Key words: sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), biocorrosion, bactericide, oil and gas industry

Authors: R.I. Valiakhmetov (RN-BashNIPIneft LLC, RF, Ufa); I.M. Khusnullin (RN-BashNIPIneft LLC, RF, Ufa); A.D. Khazchiev (RN-BashNIPIneft LLC, RF, Ufa); I.V. Kostitsyna (RN-BashNIPIneft LLC, RF, Ufa)

The article presents the experience in mitigation of biocorrosion on oil fields. Corrosion of equipment and pipelines on late-stage fields is an operational problem in the oil industry. Although it is often difficult to identify the leading mechanism of degradation, however, based on statistics from investigations of the failures causes, it can be stated that failures due to bacterial corrosion and corrosion under deposits account up to 34 % of the total number of failures occurring due to corrosion. Corrosion tests were conducted under statistical conditions on a model of formation water contaminated with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and a model of formation water without SRB. The results of tests showed that in the presence of the SRB cumulative culture, the general rate of the corrosion process increases by 2 times compared to a similar model of formation water that does not contain SRB. The most traditional method of combating bacterial contamination of deposits is the use of bactericides. However, often for conditions of fields in the late stages of development the use of bactericides is not an economically viable way to mitigate bacterial corrosion. A technical and economic assessment of measures aimed at mitigation of biocorrosion using impact treatment technology with technological equipment settling has been carried out. The technical and economic assessment showed that bactericidal treatments at fields in the late stage of development are unprofitable. Bactericide injection is most effective in combination with equipment cleaning from deposits for fields where bactericidal treatments have historically been used since commissioning.

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