Production tubing in mature fields in the Magdalena Department’s Middle Valley in Colombia has shown a run life between 180 and 300 days, with failures mainly caused by corrosion and abrasive wear or friction mechanisms. Extended use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) liner in flow and collector lines with corrosion and abrasion problems has resulted in positive results. The complete paper presents the results of evaluation of laboratory and demonstration trials of HDPE liner to mitigate premature failures and prolong the run life of production tubing.
Introduction
Root-cause analysis determined that failures in production tubing in the mature Casabe and Cantagallo fields could be the result mainly of corrosion by the multiphase fluids transported or as the result of wear mechanisms caused by contact between the internal wall of the tubing and the sucker rod in artificial-lift systems.
To solve this problem, HDPE liner was evaluated in the laboratory and implemented in a pilot-scale test. Results proved its ability to absorb abrasion impact from sand particles and resist CO2 corrosion.
