Application of Nickel Alloy in Petroleum and Natural Gas

The exploitation, production, and storage of oil and natural gas is a complex task and plays a vital role in the construction of international energy. The oil itself is not corrosive, but its production is carried out in a highly corrosive environment. Crude oil and natural gas are organic mixtures with complex components. The composition of crude oil includes hydrocarbons and sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen compounds. Natural gas is composed of gases such as methane, ethane,  propane, and also contains a small amount of sulfuric acid. Therefore, resistance to pitting, crevice corrosion, and stress corrosion are some of the most important properties for selecting oil and gas production materials. The equipment and components used in oil and gas production often need to withstand some of the most extreme conditions, such as high temperatures and highly corrosive media. These equipment are incredibly complex and technical, and they determine the safety of the entire mining process. Therefore, engineers need to find special alloys that can work normally in these harsh environments and can maintain excellent performance.

Nickel alloys include HASTELLOY, INCONEL, INCOLOY, and MONEL. They are resistant to high temperature, corrosion and have high mechanical properties. They have become a well-deserved material of choice in the oil and gas industry. These materials help to manufacture pumps, valves, and process control equipment cost-effectively.

The following are just some examples:

● INCOLOY 825 has excellent resistance to general corrosion and local corrosion and can be used for the separation of extraction fluids in natural gas production systems.

● INCOLOY alloy 92 can be used for downhole and surface gas well components due to its resistance to sulfide stress corrosion cracking.

● INCONEL 625 has high strength under extreme conditions and can resist pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion caused by chloride ions, so it is used to make the main material and cladding for collecting acid gas pipelines, and it can also be used for seawater heat exchange in oil refineries and device.

● MONEL 400 can be used for underground pipelines and hangers. It can also be used to make components for wellheads and heat exchange equipment.