The Oil Drum

100 comments on Saudi oil production revisited

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jkissing on August 14, 2006 - 1:06am

RIgs that drift from our gulf to theirs may be an overall positive because their wells produce more than ours do, but nevertheless there will be less development here than previously thought.
We need more rigs, crews, and pipe, for starters. Leaky pipes might be a world wide phenom considering how old most fields and their infrastructure are.

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BaSE on August 15, 2006 - 12:45am

What sort of metal do they use for deep sea piping? I know the Navy uses a material called monel which is mostly nickel and copper, for their pipes and fittings that are exposed to seawater. But I imagine that monel is probably too expensive for kilometers of piping. Is there an industry standard? And what sort of piping did BP have that gave them problems?

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jkissing on August 15, 2006 - 5:29pm

Almost certainly the pipe is garden variety low-carbon steel, painted on the outside for protection from the elements. Internal corrosion, at least enough to eat through the wall, was not expected - normally, oil protects steel from corrosion.