Consideration of the possibility of transporting compressed hydrogen through existing gas pipelines leads to the need to study the regularities of the effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of steels in relation to the conditions of their operation in pipelines (operating pressure range, stress state of the pipe metal, etc.). This article provides an overview of the types of influence of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of steels, including those used for the manufacture of pipelines. The effect of elastic and plastic deformations on the intensity of hydrogen saturation of steels and changes in their strength and plastic deformations is analyzed. An assessment of the potential losses of transported hydrogen through the pipeline wall as a result of diffusion has been made. The main issues that need to be solved for the development of a scientifically grounded conclusion on the possibility of using existing gas pipelines for the transportation of compressed hydrogen are outlined.

One of the main reasons for oil-field pipeline failure is groove corrosion. The residual life of such pipelines is estimated based on defectoscopy corrosion rate—a ratio of the formed «groove» depth to the pipeline operation start time. In this case, it is supposed that, in the future, the «groove» will deepen at the same rate for the remaining period of the pipe’s operation. However, sometimes, oil-field pipeline operation experience shows that the remaining time of safe operation is much less than the calculated one. In this article, such a discrepancy is explained via the acceleration of the groove corrosion rate in the process of «groove» deepening due to the increasing level of mechanical stresses in the surrounding metal, which intensifies the corrosion process as a result of the mechanochemical effect. Based on a literature analysis and calculated data, the kinetic equation of the groove corrosion rate for an oil-field pipeline is proposed, which accounts for the acceleration of the process rate as the pipeline is operated and allows the more accurate estimation of its remaining service life.