Corrosion Monitoring as an Integral Component of an Effective Corrosion Management Program

An effective pipeline integrity management program requires four components: a comprehensive understanding of corrosion mechanisms taking place in the pipeline, an effective corrosion mitigation plan responsive to the expected mechanisms, a monitoring plan to provide feedback to the corrosion mitigation plan and a selective inspection plan to validate the corrosion mechanisms and mitigation effectiveness and to confirm the pressure-containment capability of the pipeline. This paper describes several case studies where the use of a suitable corrosion monitoring device has led to an early warning of the lack of performance of the mitigation measures which, if left unchecked, could result in more severe corrosion and eventually, failure.