Paper: Cathodic Protection In The Oil Industry

Corrosion can be separated into four parts, 1) an anodic site, 2) a cathodic site, 3) an electrolyte and, 2) a metallic path. Corrosion can be minimized by eliminating or controlling any one of these four components. Cathodic protection (CP) works by controlling the anodic and cathodic sites in a corrosion cell. This is accomplished by creating an anode separate from the equipment being protected. The anode can be either a more active metal or a material induced with an outside source of direct current. Cathodic protection has been used successfully to protect buried piping, storage tanks, production separators, well casings, offshore platforms, etc. This paper is an overview of cathodic protection in the oilfield and presents basic information on the design and maintenance of CP systems.