The Energy Institute

Corrosion Management Working Group

Project S 911 Development of Guidelines for the

management of external coatings

Date:
Venue:

16th November 2011

Coatings Task Force Workshop - OGP Office, London

Guidelines for the management of external coatings

Guideline aims to assist industry to better manage the maintenance of

external coatings for offshore installations

An industry reference document to fostering a common cross

industry understanding of what is involved in todays practice.

Improve efficiencies

Good practice document for possible referencing within contracts

Compiled for UK North Sea but can apply internationally

Builds on EI publications instigated by the CMWG:

Guidance for corrosion management in oil and gas production and

processing
External corrosion awareness handbook

Guidelines for the management of external coatings

Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
1.

Introduction

2.

Management systems

3.

Survey & Inspection

4.

Assessment criteria & reporting

5.

Development of work scopes

6.

Implementation

7.

Monitoring & improving

performance

8.

Data management

Annexes:
A. References
B. Abbreviations & Glossary
C. Competency
D. Surface preparation assurance
E. Key performance indicators
F. Corrosion degradation scales
G. Generic coating types
H. CLAW Regulations
J. Survey template examples
K. CBA example

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Key activities of an external coating management process
Corporate
safety
performance
standards:
Maintain
equipment

Equipment
integrity

Hydrocarbon
Containment
Structural
integrity:

All relevant components to be

identified & effectively maintained:

Control of corrosion

Routine survey/inspection

Coatings remediation

Continuous review

Identify all elements protected by

external coatings
Inspection programmes
FM planning

Inspect and
assess condition

Estimate resource
requirements

No

Approve
scope of
work

Yes

Coatings remediation scope

Mobilisation & ancillary
costs

Corporate budgets
Adequacy of scope of work

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Key activities of an external coating management process (contd.)

Issue scope of
work to
contractor

Reporting

Risk assess
outstanding
scopes

Determine any
mitigating control
measures

Compile work packs

Plan
Implement
Inspect & report

Scope completion
KPI criteria
Outstanding works

Generate
annual FM
report

Update CM
database &
MMS

Guidelines for the management of external coatings

Historical approaches:

Fabric maintenance geared toward initial de-commissioning date

determined at start of development.

Economics based upon reservoir knowledge and at the time

Changes in technology, satellite field hosting and changes in energy

prices.

Many installations are now in life extension mode

Significant coatings maintenance backlogs

HSE inspections concern for condition of plant

Guidelines for the management of external coatings

Costs

Where there has been extensive breakdown of the external coating resulting in
defects that breach the relevant performance criteria, the costs involved in
identifying, mitigating and/or replacing equipment can be significant.

Experience has shown that coating FM costs will increase disproportionately year
on year if mitigation to date has been ineffective.
18

Coatings Maintenance costs escalation

Cost increase vs. degradation (time)
Initial cost/m2 = 1

Cost escalation ratio

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Management policies key elements:

Defining roles and responsibilities

Life cycle management approach

Performance requirements

Implementation of risk based approach

Quality assurance

Competency

Performance targets and use of KPIs

Cost management (including costs of not maintaining)

Guidelines for the management of external coatings from corrosion

protection
Management through life of field:
Phase 1 Project:

Opportunity to properly specify, correct faults

and develop strategy for Phase 2

Phase 2 Operation

Tendency for resource constraints

Any deferral should have management

approval

Phase 3 run-down to de-commissioning

Condition will influence decommissioning date

Overall maintenance reduced

Vital utilities, escape routes, critical structures

Guidelines for the management of external coatings from corrosion

protection
Management strategies:
Operators have differing approaches (generally risk or condition based)
Consider the 4 approaches for management of maintenance:
Approach

General Features

Reactive

Run-to-Fail:
3 5 year design life; component replacement;
large campaigns; decommissioning phase.

Risk

Predictive

Specialist databases
Predictive models
12+ year design life; spot painting

Risk

Preventative

Selective local area management;

15+ year design life.

Condition

Reliability
centred

Holistic rehabilitation;
20+ year design life. Large campaigns

Condition

However, management of risk should underpin all approaches

Basis

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Surveying:

Assessment of condition usually by applying the degree of rusting scale as per

BS EN ISO 4628 Part 3

Other important information:

Descriptive location of the item.

Dimensions.
Anomalies which will have an accelerating effect on coating breakdown such as
dissimilar metal contact or water pooling.
Coating defects such as inter-coat disbondment, uncoated welds etc.
Access requirements.
Where applicable Insulation condition.
Photographs.

Key activity as reports form the basis of scopes of work

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Surveying:
Assessment of condition as
per BS EN ISO 4628 Part 3
degree of rusting scale

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Assessment criteria & reporting:

Use of rusting scale as per BS EN ISO 4628 Part 3

Surface condition failure mode
Classification

Other methods rely on verbal

description.

(Example shown extends to condition

of substrate)

Surface condition

99

Unknown; unobserved

Sound coating protection

Sound, although aged, coating protection

Coating loss; no exposure to substrate

Substantial coating loss; no exposed substrate

Total coating loss; substrate exposed, substrate discoloured;

non-ferrous substrate discoloured

Substrate corrosion evident; no scale

Light scale; minimal metal loss (uniform metal loss not easily
measurable; early corrosion.

Corroded; lightly pitted (early corrosion with or without scale)

Heavy scale; metal loss evident (uniform metal loss,

measureable advanced corrosion.

Corroded; heavily pitted (advanced corrosion with or without

scale)

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Assessment criteria & reporting:

Quantifying substrate damage or
deterioration:

When coating has deteriorated beyond

say Ri5, substrate damage may need
quantifying.

Operators use a variety of methods

Category or Criticality.

NDT will be required if significant and

especially pre-surface preparation.

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

25

Assessment criteria & reporting:

Substrate predictions provided in various

references such as: BS EN ISO 12944-2:
Table 1 - Atmospheric Corrosivity

NDT will be required if significant and

especially pre-surface preparation.

15
10

Coating use of predicted performance

curves

categories and examples of typical

environments.

Years

Estimating deterioration rates over time:

Coating performance
Paint system X

20

Max
Mean

Min

0
0

Ri Value

Area

Corrosion Rate
(mm/year)

Splash Zone

1.0

Below Cellar Deck

0.3

`Exterior Lower Decks

0.2

Naturally Ventilated Modules

0.1

Pressurised Module Interiors

0.05

Top Deck

0.2

Atmospheric spray zone

0.5

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Developing scopes of works
General criteria:

Safety, environmental and commercial impact of failure of the element

Overall risk of safety related elements at their current condition

Budget

Others:

Aesthetics; the appearance of the installation is reflected by the general condition

of the external coatings.

Planning - The scopes of work for coating maintenance would strongly shape the
FM plan.

Potential for deployment of encapsulation (habitats) and dehumidification to allow

all year round FM activities.

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Basic examples of prioritisation:
Condition based
Typical general external coating remedial criteria
Ri No
Coating
maintenance
requirements

None

2
Aesthetics
only

3
Optimum
opportunity spot
repair

4
Large scale
remediation
programme

5
Element repairs and
full coating
replacement

Risk based
Component

Target Intervention

Maximum Intervention

P1 Structural

Ri3/Re5 Cat B

Ri5/Re7 Cat B

P1 & P2 Hydrocarbon Pipework

Ri2/Re3 Cat B

Ri3/Re5 Cat B

P3 Non Safety Critical

Ri3/Re5 Cat B

Ri5/Re7 Cat B

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Using criticality
Probability Potential of occurrence

Very low

Low

Medium

1 yr. Production

First aid case.

Contained spill.
No impact on regulator

~20%

Recordable injury.
Uncontained spill with serious
environmental impact.
Advisable to ensure regulator
relationship.

~10 to 20%

Cost
(Mn NPV)
>100

OPEX/CAPEX

Very low

>100Mn

High

2-10Mn

Medium

0.5-2Mn

Low

Serious injury or HiPo.

Short term damage within facility
boundary.
Uncontained spill with serious
environmental impact.
Directive from regulator

<
0.5Mn

Very low

One or more fatalities or multiple

permanent injuries.
Uncontained spill with severe
environmental impact.
Obligation to Regulator

~5 to 10%

Very high

HSE

~5%

High

Very high

>20 <100

Medium

Very high

Very high

>5 <20

Low

High

High

Several times
over 1 year or
recently

Medium

High

Medium

Medium

several times
over 10 years

Low

Impact

Very high

Very low

Unlikely to
occur

<5

Has not
occurred

Impact

Damage to
reputation

International:
Serious

Local:
involvement of
regulator

Local: complaints
from local
community

Internal impact

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
Scope of Work - Estimating costs

m2 per man-hour norms influenced by :

Site set-up

Pre-treatment (grinding sharp edges, laminations, etc.)

Access install and uninstall

Surface treatment: degreasing and fresh water washing

Masking protection and de-masking

Surface preparation: referring to the technique(s) deployed

Paint application (stripe or spray coats), number of coats, etc.

Quality control steps

Site tidy up and decamp

Degrees of difficulty particularly access

Non productive time (NPT)

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Implementation:

Scope of work released from

the Operator

Good liaison and review and

approval is important

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Implementation:

Contractor/Operator
liaison essential

Clarifications

HSEQ Interface

Etc.

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Implementation:

Work packs

Scope of work
Reporting process
Procedures
Plan
Specification references
COSHH data sheets
Control of lead procedures if required
Materials and equipment
Quality control plan

Review and approval process important

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Surface preparation:
The principal factors affecting coating performance are:

Surface contamination (e.g. salts, oil and grease)

Presence of rust and mill scale

Surface profile

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Surface
preparation
methods

Principle
Technique

Applicable
Standard

Considerations
-

Dry
abrasive
blasting

Wet slurry
abrasive
blasting

Bristle
blasting

Mechanical
preparation

Hand
preparation

Potential
lifespan of
coatings

Spent abrasives require containment.

Protection of sensitive equipment.
Noise.
Encapsulation for environmental impact.
Pressure limitations to avoid possible
breach to pressurised plant and
equipment.

15-20 years

ISO 8501-1

ISO 8501-1
HB

Containment of abrasives.
Cleaning of spent abrasives.
Noise.
Pressure limitations to avoid possible
breach to pressurised plant and
equipment.

10-15 years

Relatively time consuming.

Suitable for small areas local repairs.

5-10 years

Up to 18
months

Relatively time consuming

Suitable for local repairs only.
Hand arm vibration syndrome to
operators due to vibration.
Noise.

Relatively time consuming

Cosmetic coating only

Up to 18
months

SSPC Vis-4/
NACE Vis-7

SSPC SP-11

ISO 8501-1
SSPC SP-3

ISO 8501-1
SSPC SP-2

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Surface preparation online - pre preparation assurance

Principal technique

Method option

Risk

Dry abrasive blasting

Open blasting. Closed system blasting

Wet abrasive blasting

Open wet-slurry abrasive blasting

Ultra high pressure

water jetting

Removal of coatings with UHP lance or closed circuit

systems

Impact power tools

Needle guns

Cleaning mechanical
tools

Brestle blaster. Power wire brush. Rotating sanding discs

Impact hand tools

Chipping hammers. Scrapers

Cleaning hand tools

Wire brush. Sanding discs

Chemical cleaning

Coating and rust removers. Degreasers

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Inspection regime post surface preparation

Environmental conditions temperature, relative humidity, dew point and steel

temperature

Cleanliness checks - at all stages of coating application.

Batch numbers of coating

Surface cleanliness

Wet film thickness

Dry film thickness

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Data management:
Database containing relevant information on elements/components to
be maintained:

Proprietary databases available

Complex versions can include calculation regimes (e.g. estimations of

degradation etc.)

Can be spread sheet based

Platform and details to suit management approach to coating

maintenance

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Competency:
Key to quality and efficiency.
Benefits of adopting training and competency certification schemes
(passport system)

Allows new entrants entry to the industry access to a structured process

which is transferrable across all contracting companies.

The recording of site experience to demonstrate skills level of trained

personnel.

Improved HSEQ standards and expectations.

Recognised qualifications - control of competent persons assigned to

work on site.

A career development path attractive to personnel new to the industry

and to help retain existing.

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection
In summary:
Guidance on management of external coatings:

Provides industry with a common reference which sets out good practice
for the offshore industry today.

Underpins the need for training and competency

Potential for realising costs savings through normalising practice across

all Operators and contractors

Good basis for training novices and informing managers

Principles can be adopted also by onshore facilities and internationally

Thank you
Perhaps see you next year!

www.energyinst.org.uk

Technical work for Industry

Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC)

Standard
Test
Methods

Hydrocarbon
Management

Committees

Distribution
& Marketing
Committee

Safety &
Integrity
Management

Health
Technical
Committee

Industry Working Groups & Committees

Current Technical (STAC) Members:

BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd

BP Oil UK Ltd
EON
Centrica
Shell UK Exploration & Production
ConocoPhillips Ltd
Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd
ExxonMobil
BG Group

Chevron
ENI
Kuwait Petroleum
Maersk Oil North Sea Ltd
Murco Petroleum Ltd.
Shell UK Oil Products Ltd
Saudi Aramco
Total E & P UK plc
Total UK Ltd

Premier
Nexen
Statoil

Environment
Management
Group

Guidelines for the management of external coatings for corrosion

protection

Fluid

Pressure

Temp. (oC)

Risk
ranking*

Shutdown

H/C
Gas

>30
barg

>80

Total

H/C
Liq.

>10
30
barg

60
to
80

Partial

Pre-preparation assurance example of risk ranking

Water
/utilit
y

10
barg

Overall risk ranking

3
2

Level of
approval

Minimum
extent of
inspection

Off-line only

N/A
Offline

Approval by
SIE

If unable to take
readings under
scale, assign to 3

Wet blast
Bristle blaster

Approval by
OIE

Can take
readings
adjacent to scale

60

None

Deciding Factors

* Worst case of 1st three columns

Initial
indicato
r

Consequence

External
Scaling

No scaling

Loose scale
Easily
removed

Moderate
scaling

Heavy
scaling

Heavy
scaling
Strongly
adherent

Estimated or
measured WT
loss

No loss

< 1 mm

> 1
2 mm

Confidence in
WT

Confident
accurate
min WT
measurement

Fairly
confident in
readings

Some
confidence
in readings

> 2 mm
CA

Little
confidence
in readings

WT Confidence (Probability of failure)

> CA
MAWT + 3
mm
No confidence
No readings
available or
possible

Scale removal
methods

Wet blast
Bristle blaster
Needle gun
Grinding disc

Wet blast
Bristle blaster
Needle gun
Grinding disc