Development status of cathodic protection technology in China

China's pipeline cathodic protection technology is relatively late, but with the rapid development of pipeline transportation industry, since the late 1970s, China's long-distance pipeline basically adopts cathodic protection technology, but the cathodic protection technology used is basically equivalent to the level of foreign countries before the 1950s and 1960s, and the protection requirements are relatively low. It is mainly manifested in the following aspects:

1. The construction quality of cathodic protection technology application is poor, most of the construction is undertaken by the pipeline construction contractor. In the construction process, the construction is not carried out according to the design drawings or without the guidance of professional personnel, resulting in the construction quality is not guaranteed;

2. The application standard of cathodic protection is not perfect, and the phenomenon that cathodic protection has not been applied in many old pipelines and new pipelines (including gathering pipelines in oil fields and refineries) has brought hidden dangers to normal production;

3. There are still loopholes in the operation and management of cathodic protection. Many long-distance pipeline cathodic protection managers lack necessary professional skills, and the testing methods and tools are still backward, which can not meet the needs of practical application;

4. Except for a few national key projects, the quality of cathodic protection equipment in most projects is far away from the world advanced level, especially for the quality of supporting facilities required by cathodic protection technology;

5. At present, most of the cathodic protection tests of pipelines or other protectors are carried out manually, which has a long period, poor reliability and large error.

In view of the existing problems and current situation in the application of cathodic protection in China, the petroleum industry and relevant departments introduced some advanced equipment and management experience of cathodic protection on the premise of summing up practical experience and lessons in the late 1980s, which promoted the development of cathodic protection industry in China. 

For example, under the condition of market economy, the bidding mechanism of cathodic protection project is implemented, and excellent professional construction team is selected for construction to ensure the overall quality of cathodic protection project; in the construction process, the third-party supervision and supervision mode is gradually implemented, and professional operation and maintenance management are basically implemented. At present, there are many manufacturers producing cathodic protection professional facilities, supporting equipment and materials in China. These make the application level of cathodic protection in China to a higher level.