Paper: Diagnosis And Inhibition Of Corrosion Fatigue And Oxygen Influenced Corrosion Two Particularly Painful Oilfield Corrosion Problems

In the effort to raise more hydrocarbons to the surface, production practices have evolved which aggravate certain corrosion related problems. One of these problems, corrosion fatigue, is usually associated with rod pumped wells because it has a stress component plus a corrosion component; as wells are pumped harder, stresses are higher and corrosion fatigue becomes more prevalent. Another of the problems becoming more frequent is an indirect result of both harder pumping and depletion of gas pressure in oil reservoirs, and a direct result of certain stimulation methods; oxygen can enter production fluids and alter the mechanism of corrosion in oilfield fluids. This paper outlines diagnosis of these two problems and describes their control with corrosion inhibitors.