Causes of oil and gas pipeline leakage

    There are many reasons for pipeline leakage, which can be divided into three categories: corrosion perforation, fatigue cracking and external damage.

    Although corrosion control measures can significantly reduce corrosion, it does not prevent corrosion. When the cathodic protection is insufficient, the pipeline corrosion process will be slow but will not stop due to cathodic protection; when the cathodic protection is shielded, the pipeline corrosion will not be inhibited at all. Insufficient cathodic protection means that the protection current provided by the cathodic protection system cannot meet the pipeline protection requirements; cathodic protection shielding means that the cathodic protection current is blocked in the flow and cannot reach the predetermined position. When a large area of damage, continuous leakage points or overall insulation performance decline on the coating, it is easy to cause insufficient cathodic protection.

    If the oil and gas pipeline is operated under high pressure for a long time, the mechanical properties of the pipeline metal will gradually decay, and the micro-cracks existing in the pipeline weld itself and due to stress corrosion will expand. When the cracks develop to a certain extent, they will cause sudden pipeline rupture accident, leading to leakage. For gas pipelines, pipeline rupture may have catastrophic consequences.

    External damage mainly includes natural disasters and human disasters. Floods, landslides, mudslides, and earthquakes can all damage pipelines; human disasters mainly refer to third-party damage, including unintentional damage caused by various construction projects such as road construction and excavation and deliberate damage caused by perpetrators such as drilling holes, stealing oil and gas.

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