7/28/2019 Final Draft SS Magazines

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OIL & GAS

Improvements in materialengineeringIn recent years, material engineering

has grown and expanded tremendously,

continues Riky. For example ten

years ago I was impressed by the ability

of RTP (Reinforced Thermo Plastic)

pipe materials which were able to

perform under quite high operatingpressure (more than 600 psi) in water

injection wells. However, it was noticed

that the application was still very limited

due to its ultra-violet sensitivity. Less than

five years later, I learned of massive

improvements to the products. Now,

based on new breakthroughs, highly

UV-resistance RTP pipes are available

in the market.

Looking specifically at metallic materials,

I am also impressed by the efforts of

manufacturers to achieve continuous

improvements. For example, a few years

ago corrosion engineers may have

decided to select a nickel based alloy to

withstand a medium temperature chloride

environment. Nowadays, they may

consider super-austenitic and or super

duplex stainless steel which are more cost

competitive up to certain pH, temperature,

and chloride levels.

The materials we commonly use

at RasGas are neither exceptional

nor special formulas. Due to the cost

effectiveness, market-availability,

weld-ability, and a broad range of

applications, austenitic stainless

steel 316 and 316L are the most common

corrosion resistant alloys used by many

companies within oil and gas industries.

In an environment containing chloride and

operating at high temperatures, either

incoloy 825 or inconnel 625 is used. In

seawater applications Copper-Nickel

90-10 and titanium are common. High

temperature austenitic 304H, superaustenitic 6% Mo and 904L, weld stabilized

austenitic grades 321, duplex 2205 and

super duplex 2507, feritic 430 and 409,

martensitic 410, 17-4 precipitation-

hardening, 13-Cr, Monel 400, nickel based

alloy C276, and even low-alloy steels are

also chosen for specific projects.

Advice to manufacturersAt the moment Im working on some

small projects related to internal corrosion

monitoring installation, cathodic protection

upgrade, process piping modification and

heat exchanger material upgrades,

continues Riky.

If I could pass on any advice to

manufacturers, it would be that wherever

you are in the world, the most important

information for their business continuity

is the customers needs. Manufacturers

should perform continuous updates on

new technology that can be applied to

the hot issues faced by their customers

within the industry. Its also essential to

place more emphasis on Research and

Development to find better solutions for

unsolved problems.

Id like to see corrosion resistant alloy

(CRA) improvements in sea water

application areas. Currently available

CRAs like nickel based alloy 625, C-276,and titanium alloys are still considered

as very expensive, while some failures

are still occurring with the lower

material grades. The other improvement

opportunity is for manufacturers to

optimize the production and delivery

time of some CRAs that are considered

as long-lead items.

People are becoming increasingly

creative, and data gathered by lessons

learned is important enough to become

a consideration when selecting materials

for equipment design. Its now a mandatory

requirement to perform life cycle cost

calculations before giving green light

status to any project. In the near future,

only the most price-competitive and

best-suited material will be selected.

People will no longer see CAPEX as

the only consideration, but also the

overall costs during project operation

life time.

About Riky BernardoRiky graduated from chemical/process engineering department of Parahyangan

Catholic University, Indonesia in 1999. Hes been in the Upstream Oil and Gas

industry for more than 13 years and is a registered member of NACE and IChemE

(UK). Riky started his career in 2000 as a Field Application Engineer in EONChemicals.

The company seconded him to Caltex Pacific Indonesia (currently known as Chevron).

There, in the largest crude oil producer company in Indonesia, he was part of the Field

Management Engineering Team providing technical services and consultancy for

all chemical treatment applications, fluid monitoring, and corrosion control. In 2005

he joined ConocoPhillips as Senior Chemical and Corrosion Engineer, where he

enriched his experience in offshore processing facilities and natural gas production

environments. Since 2009 he has been Senior Corrosion Engineer with RasGas

Company, one of the major LNG producers in the world. Riky enjoys travelling

and basketball and swimming are his main hobbies. Riky describes himself as

a family-oriented man who is keen to spend time with his children.

When not hard at work for Rasgas, Riky enjoys travelling and spending time with his family.