System and method for monitoring corrosion in oilfield wells and pipelines utilizing time-domain-reflectometry

摘要

The present invention provides a system and method for in-situ monitoring of corrosion in a conduit which carries fluids that have corrosive effects on the materials utilized for the conduit and/or equipment disposed in the conduit. The conduit may include a well carrying hydrocarbons from subsurface formations or a pipeline transporting hydrocarbons. A cable of sufficient length having a conductor that is susceptible to the corrosive effects of the fluids in the conduit is deployed along a length of the conduit. The conductor is exposed to the fluid continuously or at selected spaced apart locations. The distance of each of the exposed locations from an accessible end is known. A signal generator coupled to the cable induces a pulsed signal into the cable. The transmitted signals are reflected by location on the cable where the impedance differs from the normal impedance. Such locations include each of the exposed conductor locations and the termination point. The reflected signals are received by a receiver and then processed and analyzed by a processor to determine the extent of the corrosion at each of the exposed locations. This information is then used to estimate the nature and extent of the corrosion of components in the wellbore or the pipeline, as the case may be. The cable may be a single conductor cable or a twisted pair of wires, each having a known impedance per unit length.