The research, by Professor of Environmental Microbiology Chuma Conlette Okoro, centred on novel technology of remediating problems associated with souring and corrosion in the petroleum industry.
Prof Okoro’s study was funded by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) which has been financing research activities in relevant fields in the oil and gas industry in the last decade.
Pipeline corrosion, which is decay or deterioration of pipelines buried underground, exposed to the atmosphere, or submerged in water, is a growing problem in the oil and gas industry.
Pipelines transporting crude oil, water and gas from onshore oil producing facilities in Nigeria are usually subject to frequent dirt, solid deposit accumulation and corrosion despite treatment programmes adopted by companies.
Any of these problems or combination of them can result in costly operational problems like high maintenance costs, expensive parts replacement and unscheduled shut down.
According to researchers, pipeline and facility corrosion is a major issue globally and about 20-30% of corrosion is related to microbial activity originating from hydrocarbon and ground water sources.
It cost Nigeria’s oil sector $600 million annually to manage souring and corrosion related problems.
