Experimental Studies of Water Wetting in Large Diameter Horizontal Oil-Water Pipe Flows - Paper

Aug 27, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

Internal pipeline corrosion in oil production and transportation is driven by the presence of water, with corrosion likelihood generally rising as water volume fraction increases. Corrosion becomes impossible when pipeline walls are wetted with oil. The study links flow intensity and regime to corrosion outcomes: highly turbulent flow at low water cuts produces negligible corrosion through water entrainment by oil, while low-rate or intermittent flow yields corrosive conditions. Four advanced techniques are applied to determine phase wetting at different superficial velocities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Corrosion risk from oil-water co-flow

Prior quantitative criteria and limitations

Experimental approach

Phase wetting detection techniques

Observed flow patterns

Phase wetting regimes and map

Key findings on critical velocity and corrosion rates

SPE 95512-PP Experimental Studies of Water Wetting in Large Diameter Horizontal Oil-Water Pipe Flows Jiyong Cai, Srdjan Nesic,Chong Li, Xuanping Tang and Francois Ayello/Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology, Ohio University C. Ivan T. Cruz and Jamal N. Al-Khamis/Saudi Arabian Oil Company Copyright 2005, Society of Petroleum Engineers This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. , 9 – 12 October 2005. This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in a proposal submitted by the author(s) . Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s) . The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to a proposal of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The proposal must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A. , fax 01-972-952-9435. Abstract Internal pipeline corrosion in oil production and transportation is always associated with the presence of water, and the likelihood of corrosion generally increases with the volume fraction of water. When the walls of the pipeline are wetted with oil no corrosion is possible. Highly turbulent flow was associated with negligible corrosion due to water entrainment by the flowing oil, whereas low flow rates or intermittent flow have been associated with corrosive conditions. In this study, four advanced techniques (wall conductance probes, corrosion monitoring, wall sampling and flow pattern visualization) were used to determine phase wetting on the internal wall of pipe at different superficial oil and water velocities in the large diameter oil-water horizontal flow. Four flow patterns were observed: stratified flow, stratified flow with mixed layer, semi-dispersed and dispersed flows. Three types of phase wetting regimes (water wetting, intermittent wetting and oil wetting) were determined. A phase wetting map was obtained based on the overlapping information from these techniques. It is clear that the critical oil velocity of water entrainment increases with increasing input water cuts. The water cut has a significant effect on the critical oil velocity for water entrainment. Based on the results of corrosion monitoring, it is also found out that no corrosion occurs under oil wetting. At same superficial oil velocity, corrosion rate under water wetting is much higher than that under intermittent wetting. Introduction The simultaneous flow of oil and water in crude oil production and transportation pipelines is a common occurrence, seen anywhere from the well perforations to the final stages of separation. Corrosive gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are also commonly present in these systems. Typically at low water cuts this is not an issue as all the water is entrained by the flowing oil. As the water cut increases, water “break-out” may occur, leading to segregated flow of separate layers of water and oil phases. Therefore, the possibility of corrosion is high where the water phase wets the pipe wall (typically at the bottom) . In the past, the effect of multiphase oil-water flow on CO2 corrosion has been considered only in a qualitative sense. Highly turbulent flow at low water cuts was associated with negligible corrosion

FAQs

Why does corrosion depend on water presence and phase wetting?

Corrosion is associated with water in the system. When the pipe wall is wetted with oil, corrosion is not possible, while water-wetted conditions enable corrosion.

How do flow conditions affect corrosion in oil-water horizontal pipelines?

Highly turbulent flow at low water cuts leads to negligible corrosion because flowing oil entrains water. Low flow rates or intermittent flow lead to corrosive conditions due to less effective entrainment.

What phase wetting regimes and flow patterns were identified?

Four flow patterns were observed: stratified, stratified with a mixed layer, semi-dispersed, and dispersed flows. Three wetting regimes were determined: water wetting, intermittent wetting, and oil wetting, assembled into a phase wetting map.

Aug 27, 2026

Uploaded by Miles