Why oil and gas has its own requirements
At oil and gas, petrochemical and offshore facilities, coatings work in harsher conditions than on ordinary buildings: marine atmosphere and splash, immersion, high and cyclic temperatures, service under thermal insulation and fireproofing, and difficult access for repairs. Operators and EPC contractors therefore write their own specifications, based on several documents: the Norwegian standard NORSOK M-501, Part 9 of the ISO 12944 series, and documents on corrosion under insulation and on tank linings. Together with international clients and contractors, these requirements also reach gas chemical, refining and power facilities in Central Asia.
NORSOK M-501: the standard for offshore and coastal facilities
NORSOK M-501 “Surface preparation and protective coating” is published by Standards Norway. The current edition is the seventh, NORSOK M-501:2022, published in November 2022, which replaced the 2012 edition. The standard sets requirements for the selection of coating materials, surface preparation, application procedures and inspection of protective coatings during the construction and installation of offshore and coastal facilities, and gives guidelines for later maintenance. Coating systems under it must meet the high durability range as defined in ISO 12944-1; design must follow ISO 12944-3 and metal spraying ISO 2063-1. The standard does not apply to pipelines and risers.
According to Standards Norway, the 2022 edition:
- introduced pre-qualification requirements for coatings under insulation and for tank linings;
- clarified the qualification requirements for paint shops and operators;
- clarified the inspection and testing requirements before, during and after coating application;
- added systems for cryogenic and high-temperature service, powder coatings and fire protection coatings in the splash zone.
The standard describes coating systems for different conditions, so specifications refer to a particular NORSOK M-501 system and technical data sheets to qualification against it. The system must be checked against the edition of the standard cited in the specification: the list of systems has changed between editions.
ISO 12944-9: offshore structures in the international series
ISO 12944-9:2018 replaced ISO 20340:2009 and became part of the ISO 12944 series. It sets requirements for systems for offshore and related structures — in a category CX atmosphere and immersed in sea or brackish water (Im4): methods for determining the composition of the materials, laboratory tests for assessing likely durability, and criteria for assessing their results. The systems are intended for high durability as defined in ISO 12944-1; the service temperature range is −20 to +80 °C, and up to 50 °C for immersion. The standard covers new work and repairs before start-up, as well as complete refurbishment with abrasive blast cleaning to bare metal. Pipelines, buried structures, the interiors of storage tanks and surfaces under thermal insulation are outside its scope. According to ISO metadata, the drafts of the new Parts 5 and 6 of the series are intended to replace Part 9.
NORSOK M-501 and ISO 12944-9 address similar tasks, but they are different documents, each with its own requirements for systems and testing. Compliance with one does not automatically mean compliance with the other; if a specification refers to both, each must be demonstrated separately.
Corrosion under insulation
Corrosion under thermal insulation and fireproofing (CUI, CUF) is one of the main problems in refining and gas chemistry: moisture gets under the insulation, and hot or cyclically heated steel corrodes out of sight. Documents of different levels apply here:
| Document | Edition | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 19277 | 2018 | CUI environment categories with operating temperatures from −45 to 204 °C for topside and aboveground service, test methods for coatings and acceptance criteria for each category. Covers spray-applied coatings on new carbon and austenitic stainless steel; does not cover sacrificial coatings such as inorganic zinc, or tape and sheet products |
| API RP 583 | Third edition, April 2026 | API recommended practice: design, maintenance, inspection and mitigation practices for corrosion under insulation and under fireproofing |
| AMPP SP0198 | check the edition with AMPP | Control of Corrosion Under Thermal Insulation and Fireproofing Materials — A Systems Approach: a systems approach to protection against corrosion under insulation and fireproofing |
| EFC 55 | Third edition, 2020 | European Federation of Corrosion guidelines: plant design, coatings and thermal spraying, types of insulation, cladding and protection guards |
For temperatures above 204 °C, ISO 19277:2018 leaves the acceptance criteria to agreement between the parties, and below −45 °C it allows an optional cryogenic test. The standard is being revised: according to ISO metadata, it will be replaced by two parts — for liquid-applied coatings (DIS stage, voting closed) and for tape coatings. Coatings for hot surfaces and for service under insulation are covered in our heat-resistant coatings section.
Tank and vessel linings
For internal tank coatings, oil and gas specifications refer to API RP 652. The sixth edition was published in December 2025; its cover gives the title as Linings of Aboveground Storage Tanks, while the API catalogue still shows the previous title, Linings of Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank Bottoms. The document gives guidance on corrosion control in aboveground storage tanks by tank bottom linings. Requirements for the design and surface finish of tanks and vessels to be lined for immersion service are given in NACE SP0178 (AMPP), and since 2022 NORSOK M-501 has also included pre-qualification of tank linings. Choosing a lining for a particular product is covered on the coatings for tanks and pipelines page. Where the medium is chemically aggressive, we confirm the lining’s resistance only through our questionnaire, not from general tables.
Coatings and cathodic protection
On immersed and buried structures, the coating works together with cathodic protection. CP design for offshore facilities is covered by NORSOK M-503 “Cathodic Protection” (2016 edition with a 2018 corrigendum): submerged installations, pipelines, the interiors of vessels and tanks, seawater compartments, and the manufacture and installation of sacrificial anodes; impressed current systems are outside its scope. The resistance of coatings to cathodic disbonding in sea water is determined to ISO 15711:2003. A coating for a cathodically protected structure must be compatible with it — this is confirmed by testing, not by the name of the material.
Applicability in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan these documents are applied mainly at gas chemical, refining and power facilities where specifications are written by international clients and contractors. They do not override national requirements: a specification based on NORSOK M-501 or ISO 12944-9 has to be reconciled with Uzbek codes and with site conditions — a dry, sharply continental climate, wide temperature swings and saline soils. It is important to establish in advance which edition of the standard is cited, whether qualification testing of the system is required and to which programme, who accepts the work and what qualifications the inspectors must hold. See Corrosion protection standards in Uzbekistan and Coating inspection.
Is your facility working to NORSOK M-501, ISO 12944-9 or corrosion-under-insulation requirements? We will select systems to meet them, calculate thicknesses and prepare the inspection procedure. Phone, WhatsApp, Telegram: +998 94 094 52 27. E-mail: info@ognezashita.uz.