There is pressure on oil and gas companies to improve the sustainability dimension of their maintenance methods and operations, which will be crucial to the longevity of the industry.
Sustainable maintenance can be generally described as a technical approach that reduces maintenance costs while holistically considering the wider environmental, economic, and social impacts of the maintenance activity.
Having well-defined systems around sustainable maintenance should be a strategic imperative for asset-intensive companies such as those in the oil and gas sector, as they are dependent on a myriad of suppliers to manufacture, install, and maintain their assets.
Not only do companies have to manage their physical and digital ecosystems in a sustainable manner, they must also operate in ways that are greener and cleaner, use less conflict minerals, and engage more diverse suppliers.
A paper published last year in the journal Sustainability, which examined the integration of sustainability maintenance practices in the oil and gas industry, explained these practices were essential for production and drilling companies due to the sustainability requirements of control and decision making.
The authors said: “Technological advancements employed on offshore installations entail new challenges in terms of planning and measuring production managing wells, subsea systems, production, and transportation.
“Thus, the sector is experiencing persistent maintenance challenges due to the complexities of incorporating advanced technologies into maintenance strategies offshore.”
Along with integrating new technologies, demands for efficiency, and complexities of production, the authors highlighted the potentially hazardous and socially isolating offshore environment making it necessary to consider human factors for the improvement of operability and maintainability.
They said: “Studies conducted on integrating sustainable maintenance with performance have established the importance of maintenance in improving the performance of an asset and achieving sustainable competitive advantages.”
According to a study last year by asset integrity management provider Add Energy, oil and gas maintenance managers cited unnecessary high numbers of procedures and processes and a lack of equipment reliability as top concerns.
This has exacerbated pressures on maintenance budgets as companies need to upgrade and modify systems as they adopt new technologies or as old equipment reaches the end of its working life.
More than half (58 per cent) of surveyed respondents said the growing volume of processes and procedures was more challenging now than it was five years ago.
A total of 40 per cent of respondents said reliability of equipment was the biggest challenge they faced today, while getting people to use computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) was cited as the second biggest challenge with 37 per cent.
More than 70 per cent of maintenance managers said they believed the majority of their work was planned, but around 50 per cent rated both their team and maintenance strategy as highly effective.
Peter Adam, Executive Vice Present of Asset and Integrity Management at Add Energy, said the survey data clearly showed there had been significant pressure on maintenance budgets.
Adam said: “Upgrading and modifying systems and equipment are unsurprisingly high on the list as companies are being asked to sweat their assets harder and longer, requiring replacement parts that may not be in production anymore, along with increasing degradation and obsolescence.”
Sustainable corrosion prevention methods
The push for sustainable maintenance practices in the industry can be seen in the growing adoption of non-metallic and organic corrosion inhibitors, which enable cost-effective and more environmentally-friendly maintenance solutions.
Corrosion can affect equipment, pipelines, refineries, and petrochemical plants, and is usually caused by water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulphide, as well as being aggravated by microbiological activity.
Increasing awareness around the requirements of environmental protection mean corrosion prevention and control methods are not only competitive in terms of cost and durable performance, but also in their impact on the environment.
This has shifted corrosion control research towards the utilisation of naturally occurring and cheap materials for protective coatings and the controlled release of inhibitor ions.
Novel self-healing coatings are also being developed, which are generally based on epoxy resins combined with synthetic compounds like inhibitor ions, amino acids, and carboxylic acids.
Due to bans on several traditional inhibitor materials such as compounds of chromium, self-healing compounds have become more widespread, but are comparatively more costly than other solutions because of their method of synthesis and long-term durability.
Emerging non-metallic and organic inhibitors and materials can be used in coatings, components, and even structures such as pipelines, and offer advantages over metallic materials including corrosion resistance, reduced weight, increased durability, lower cost, and improved environmental efficiency.
Non-metallic coatings can fundamentally alter the way oil and gas deals with corrosion, with the development of sustainable non-metallic solutions potentially reducing long-term corrosion costs.
According to an article published in Materials and Corrosion late last year, current research on corrosion inhibitors was focused on environmentally acceptable products with high levels of biodegradability and low toxicity, as well as more concentrated products to reduce carbon emissions associated with the supply chain.
Its authors said: “New oil and gas discoveries typically involve more demanding conditions: deeper wells, more corrosive conditions, higher temperatures and pressures, and challenging locations.
“Development of better performing materials is required, which requires a continuous effort to be able to meet project demands.
“More effective material use can be achieved by applying highly corrosion-resistant metallic liners or claddings, polymer liners, or advanced high-performance coatings on the carbon steel substrate material – further development in this area is ongoing and impactful.”
Environmentally-friendly inhibitors include organic, inorganic, as well as polymer combinations, and can be classified as natural or artificial corrosion inhibitors based on preparation methods.
An overview of plant extracts as green corrosion inhibitors in the oil and gas industry pointed out that green inhibitors had in recent years increasingly replaced traditional metal corrosion inhibitors.
The authors noted the environmental-friendly alternatives had gained attention because they were cost-effective, caused minimum damage to the environment, and could be applied in various fields.
The research explained that new and advanced methods of simulation – molecular dynamics simulation and quantum chemistry calculation methods – could be used effectively to characterise and predict corrosion inhibitors.
Other methodologies currently being utilised to manage corrosion include electrical field mapping, field signature mapping, and magnetic flux leakage, as well as non-destructive testing such as eddy current testing, acoustic emission method, and ultrasonic testing.