Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (Qeeri) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, recently convened the annual Technical Steering Committee meeting for its Corrosion Centre.
The meeting brought together more than 35 attendees, among them corrosion and materials engineering experts from the oil and gas industry, ministries in Qatar, and international experts, including corrosion researchers from Curtin University.
Corrosion continues to remain a key issue facing companies operating in Qatar, with the conditions present being some of the harshest and aggressive environments encountered globally, it was pointed out
The Technical Steering Committee meeting is an integral part of determining the guiding strategy for the programmes at Qeeri’s Corrosion Centre. The meeting was an opportunity for Qeeri to present current programmes and projects to industry members for feedback and comments to ensure they are in line with the needs of Qatar’s industries. The Corrosion Centre’s core in-house programmes include pipeline integrity management, corrosion inhibitors qualification and monitoring, material for hydrogen energy, stress corrosion cracking, and reinforced concrete corrosion. It also has joint projects with Curtin Corrosion Centre as part of the Qeeri-Curtin Corrosion Centre alliance. These projects focus on corrosion under insulation, microbiological-induced corrosion, acid gas corrosion, and coating degradation, among other areas.
“The Technical Steering Committee is crucial to our operations at the Qeeri Corrosion Centre,” said Dr Hanan Farhat, senior research director of the centre. “Every project we conduct has an industrial partner and an industrial challenge that needs to be resolved. We believe that our work has to be relevant and meet industry needs. This is why we conduct our tests either in field conditions or in simulated field conditions to better represent the environment that contributes to material corrosion.”
Yousef al-Jaber, vice president, Innovation and Change Management at TotalEnergies, who attended the meeting, said: “Qeeri’s Corrosion Centre provides a unique opportunity for the energy sector to work with world-class researchers on topics that are crucial for our operations. In the field of corrosion, understanding the local ecosystem is key to finding the most suitable solutions. The Corrosion Centre has been very successful in establishing strong ties with the local industry and breaking the barriers between the research community and industry.”
It not only allowed for connection and networking opportunities between the Corrosion Centre and industry but ensured the centre’s programmes remain relevant to industry needs, according to Dr Marc Vermeersch, Qeeri executive director.
“The meeting provided direct insight and discussion between oil and gas companies that operate in Qatar and across all aspects of the operations spectrum, from upstream producers to downstream refining. It has enabled knowledge transfer about new test methods, materials, or environmental conditions currently being faced. In turn, this has allowed direct input from industry for the Corrosion Centre to tailor programmes for specific needs and also helped industry partners to understand the full extent of the projects, facilities, and resources offere,” he added.