2018035 COLD FINGER TESTING – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

The Cold Finger Test is the primary test presently used by Chemical Vendors to select Paraffin Inhibitors to prevent paraffin deposition in producing gas and oil wells, gathering systems, treating facilities and pipelines. If a good Test procedure is used to erase the thermal history of 
the crude sample to be used and it reproduces the system Temperatures in the area to be treated an effective chemical will be chosen for that system’s paraffin problem.  Unfortunately, the economic conditions that have befallen the Industry in the past few years have caused both vendors and oil companies to look for short cuts to allow for more to be done with less. Cold Finger Tests are being done with less oil, larger temperature differentials between the oil temperature and the probe temperature and shorter test run times. The use of these short cuts makes more chemicals look good on the test, giving great % inhibition results that many times are not representative how the chemical will preform in the system. This paper will discuss good test procedures, bad tests procedures and how oil companies need to determine if the results they are getting make sense and have a good chance of solving their paraffin problems.