Paper: Procedures For Evaluating Corrosion And Selecting Treating Methods For Oil Wells

Of major importance in the efficient producing of oil is to minimize workover operations caused by wellbore equipment failures. The most frequent cause of such failures is corrosion due to the corrosivity of produced fluids. The rate of attack can increase markedly as water production increases. Unless such changes are quickly detected, corrosion-induced failures can occur before an effective inhibition program can be developed. This paper presents procedures for evaluating the corrosivity of well fluids and determining when the rate of attack changes. Also included are brief discussions on various treating procedures and how the producing characteristics of wells determine the selection of the treating method. While selection of the proper inhibitor is of equal importance in a corrosion control program, it is usually based on laboratory evaluations and is beyond the scope of this paper.