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Corrosion Protection of Underground Gas/Crude Pipelines
Journal
Corrosion and Materials: in the Oil and Gas Industries
Date Issued
2016-01-01
Author(s)
Khanna, Anand Sawroop
Abstract
In today’s world, production of various petroleum products, such as petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and several other hydrocarbons, decides the economy of a country. The basic products required to produce these important ingredients are crude oil and natural gas, the main source for which is either offshore or desert. Oil exploration, several miles away from cities and towns and production units such as refineries, poses a big challenge to transport the ingredients to these sites, the main reason being that both are inflammable, and thus, any leakage can cause severe accident, leading to explosion. Therefore, transporting the same through railcar, truck, or ship over long distances may be economical but may not be safe. Hence, the alternative method of transporting them through underground pipelines is not only quick but is very safe, though with higher initial investment. A pipeline carrying products such as crude oil, refined oil, and chemicals like naphtha, ethylene, propylene, and so forth over long distances ranging from 10 to even 1000 km, passing through land, rivers, sea, mountains, marshy areas, and private and public land and crossing other services like roads, railways, transmission lines, underground pipes/cables, and so forth, is called a “cross-country pipeline” (CCP). CCP has been in use for transportation of water, petroleum liquids, and gases for the last 70-80 years in the developed countries. In India, there is approximately 25, 000 km of pipelines, transporting crude and gas, and some of the pipelines have been installed and operated for the past 40-50 years [1, 2].