As oil and gas facilities in the Middle East are aging and approaching their anticipated design life, operators are asking whether the end is really near, and whether a new lease on life is possible.

Operating equipment is usually designed for a 25 to 30 year service life; therefore structures are often designed with a corresponding service life. International codes time and again fall short of delivering the end goal in the Arabian Gulf’s extreme environment with high humidity, temperatures 20 degrees above global average, and salinity levels higher than anywhere else in the world.

To maximize value, facility owners are demanding service life beyond original design. In addition, maintenance during operations is expected to minimize down time and increase stretches of uninterrupted operation.

Cortec® is leveraging its knowledge, experience, and wide portfolio of products to assist multiple facilities in the Middle East in adopting such improvements. Its Global Services team provides assistance in all stages of the asset’s lifecycle: from condition assessments, project management, engineering, design, and application and training services.

With more than 500 products covering a range of technology platforms, Cortec® has access to many tools that facilitate its mission. For example:

• Concrete structures are treated with surface-applied migrating corrosion inhibitors (MCI®) providing quantified increase in service life.
• Steel structures can be protected with environmentally friendly waterborne coatings that provide effective protection in the harshest of environments. With the use of CorrVerter® Rust Converter and Primer, disruptive surface preparation can be avoided allowing maintenance without operational interruptions.
• CorroLogic® solution for aboveground storage tanks can be applied while in-service to provide effective protection against soil side corrosion. Besides protecting against the detrimental effects of leaks, it allows the extension of time-to-maintenance.

In the presence of one of the most challenging corrosion environments on earth, Cortec® is helping oil and gas facilities to preserve key assets beyond their expected lifetimes. Cortec’s innovative solutions enable these facilities to minimize maintenance downtime and maximize operational uptime while simultaneously giving structures a new lease on life.