Business
Opportunity
Corrosion Management Equipment and Software for the
Oil, Gas and Chemical Industries
The
Opportunity
The CANMET
Materials Technology Laboratory (CANMET-MTL) seeks one or more companies
to commercialize two products for the oil and gas industry:
- Rotating
Cage test equipment, and
- Corrosion
Inhibitor Selection Software (CISS).
The Rotating
Cage is designed to help select corrosion inhibitors for use in
oil and gas production and transmission pipelines, as well as in
oil refineries. It has outperformed other test equipment by yielding
results that correctly predicted the performance of inhibitors in
the field. The Rotating Cage can also be used to select materials
for pipes and fittings and to assess the effects of flow on the
corrosivity of liquids in refineries, chemical and petrochemical
plants.
CISS is used
to select the correct test parameters for use with the Rotating
Cage. It is also used to identify appropriate inhibitors and their
optimal concentrations, and to interpret results from other inhibitor
evaluation tests.
This business
opportunity comprises:
- the manufacture
and sale of Rotating Cage equipment;
- the distribution
and sale of CISS via licences;
- the development
and sale of upgrades to CISS; and
- the expansion
of the market to include the chemical and petrochemical industries.
The
Market
Market interest
is anticipated to be worldwide. The oil and gas industry uses corrosion
inhibitors to extend the service life of pipelines, pipes and other
equipment.
Rotating
Cage in use.
Potential customers
for the Rotating Cage equipment and CISS include the following enterprises
and organizations:
- oil and
gas fields;
- refineries;
- pipeline
owners;
- corrosion
service companies;
- pipeline
regulatory bodies;
- suppliers
of corrosion inhibitors; and
- chemical
and petrochemical plants.
The
Technology
CISS interprets
pipe flow conditions to specify equipment test parameters. The Rotating
Cage can then be used to simulate in the laboratory flow conditions
in the pipe. It can also relate results from other tests to those
of the Rotating Cage and field conditions.
ASTM G170 Standard
Guide for Evaluating and Qualifying Oilfield and Refinery Corrosion
Inhibitors in the Laboratory lists the Rotating Cage as one
of only three methods for use in evaluating the performance of corrosion
inhibitors.
Upon signing
a licence agreement CANMET-MTL will provide:
- CISS and
almost 20 000 lines of code; and
- a set of
drawings to assist in the manufacture of the Rotating Cage.
Requirements
Potential licensees
should submit a business plan that clearly shows the expected benefits
for Canada and Canadians. The plan should also show that the licensee:
- has valid
experience in the technical field concerned;
- has a good
understanding of the target market;
- is active
in the market;
- has the
human and financial resources needed to commercialize the technologies;
and
- will provide
reasonable royalties to the licensor (CANMET-MTL).
Submissions
from potential licensees will be evaluated on the basis of:
- the credibility
of the business plan and the extent to which it supports the scope
of the licence requested; and
- the scope
of expected benefits for Canada and Canadians.
For
more information please contact:
Sankara Papavinasam
Research Scientist
CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory
Natural Resources Canada
568 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0G1
Tel.: (613) 947-3603
Fax: (613) 992-8735
E-mail: spapavin@nrcan.gc.ca
References
S. Papavinasam,
R.W. Revie, M. Attard, A. Demoz, H. Sun, J.C. Donini, K.H. Michaelian,
"Laboratory Methodologies for Corrosion Inhibitor Selection,"
Materials Performance, Vol. 39, No. 8, pp. 58-60, August 2000.
S. Papavinasam,
R.W. Revie, M. Attard, A. Demoz, K.H. Michaelian, "Comparison
of Laboratory Methodologies to Evaluate Corrosion Inhibitors for
Oil and Gas Pipelines," CORROSION, October 2003, Vol. 59, No.10,
pp. 897-912 (NACE 2003).
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