Fiber Reinforced Composite Pipelines - An alternative to traditional pipeline

Corrosion is the key problem faced in oil & gas pipelines.� �Corrosion prevention' costs oil companies million dollars annually in terms of maintenance to keep the steel pipelines corrosion free.� This article suggests an alternative material that can effectively replace these steel pipelines in the oil & gas industry - Fiber Reinforced Composite pipeline. It is the possible alternative with economic viability to address the issue of corrosion. It also focuses on the procurement challenges faced in Fiber reinforced composite pipeline. Oil & gas steel pipeline Ever since the commercial discovery of hydrocarbon was made, steel pipelines are used for producing hydrocarbon production. Steel pipelines are the main mode of transportation to carry the produced hydrocarbon to a refinery or to a gas processing plant from the wellhead. Active pipeline system counts to 3,500 with 172 planned projects globally with a length of 1,016,040 miles. Pipeline industry was estimated to be USD 55.01 billion by 2014. With rising demand for oil & gas and spur of new development, global demand for oil & gas pipeline is expected to increase by 5.3 % annually and is predicted to reach 51.8 million metric tons by 2017. Hydrocarbon pipeline requires large capital expenditure. For example, Nord stream is a 1,222 km long offshore pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany was constructed at a cost of USD 9.5 billion. Spend for pipeline does not stop with the construction. Pipelines require periodic maintenance to keep it efficient and free from corrosion. Oil & gas pipeline runs which through harsh conditions are subjected to several disturbances like corrosion, third party damage, pipe failure and so on.   Author: Anand Vaidyanathan

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