Natural gas is expected to make-up an increasing larger share of the worldwide energy
supply. Many of the new gas fields are increasingly sour. The need to ensure safe production from these
new fields means more emphasis on adequate materials selection and corrosion control. This paper
provides an overview of the procedures that have been used over the past 16 years to manage sour gas
corrosion risks at the Fairway Field, offshore Alabama. It covers the design, implementation, operation
and monitoring of the corrosion control and asset integrity programs. The sour gas pipeline was
inspected after 15 years in service, and found to be in practically "as new" condition. The produced
water disposal pipeline experienced a leak, caused by internal corrosion, after 14 years in operation.
Several factors that can affect the success or failure of a corrosion management program are discussed,
in particular the ability of the corrosion control system to adapt to varying operational conditions, and to
recover from unanticipated upsets.