Text & images by Alleima
The idea of storing CO2 deep underground in geological formations like depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifer formations is seen as a viable solution to help decarbonize our environment as the CO2 can be safely stored for a very long time. The oil and gas industry is heavily focused on safety and preventing accidents, and that mindset is also being transferred to carbon storage. So, all the wells being used require field-specific considerations to be able to resist whatever environmental properties exist there.
Corrosion mechanisms
“Storing CO2 underground requires it to be injected as a supercritical fluid at high pressure, and this means that the tubing for the injection must be able to withstand the harsh conditions in which it will operate, both during periods of injection and at steady-state,” says Alleima’s Karan Jain. The process of injecting CO2 to enhance oil recovery is a well-known practice in the oil and gas industry. Alleima has extensive knowledge of corrosion mechanisms involving CO2 with impurities as well as formation environments, often including chlorides and H2S together with low pH and high temperature, and a strong portfolio of manufacturing special alloy tubes that can withstand these corrosive environments. Together with its Alliance partner Tenaris, Alleima received an order for a major CCS project in the first half of 2023.
Well conditions
Noting increasing third-party interest to determine alloy suitability for corrosive conditions, Mr Jain says that Alleima works closely with many of the companies and laboratories conducting testing. “The entire industry is set to grow over the next few years as various CCS projects are poised to materialise and increase the capacity of carbon capture globally. We see possibilities of corrosion-resistant tubing being used when the well conditions are tough.”
