A Comparative Study of Conventional and Statistically Active Corrosion Methods for Corrosion Growth Assessment of a 24-inch Gas Pipeline

Corrosion in oil and gas pipelines can lead to component failures with severe consequences, including environmental damage and operational disruptions. Accurate corrosion growth assessment is critical for pipeline integrity management, providing valuable insights for risk assessment, decision making, and asset management. This paper purpose was to presents a comparative analysis of two methods for corrosion growth assessment of the 24 inch offshore gas pipeline: the conventional method and the statistically active corrosion (SAC) method that can be used by pipeline operators to enhance their corrosion management practices. The study utilized in-line inspection (ILI) data from two consecutive runs in 2020 and 2023, covering the entire 73 km length of the pipeline. The results demonstrate that the SAC method provides a more detailed and localized assessment of the corrosion activity compared to the conventional method, identifying 782 active corrosion joints out of the 5,987 joints in the pipeline. The SAC method also yields higher average and maximum corrosion growth rates and a more detail location of where active corrosion occurs. SAC method proves to be an effective and efficient approach to addressing the challenges of corrosion assessment in pipeline integrity management, enabling operators to prioritize maintenance efforts and enhance overall pipeline safety.