Optimizing the Use of Chemical Inhibitors in Oil and Gas Fields by Developing Cost-Effective Strategies

Corrosion, salt deposition, and biofouling critically impair flow assurance and mechanical integrity in oil and gas production systems, resulting in escalating operating costs and environmental burdens. This study presents a screening-level multi-criteria decision-making framework grounded in petroleum engineering practice. Unlike conventional MCDA approaches that require extensive laboratory testing for each asset, our model enables the rapid assessment of inhibitor transferability between technologically similar fields using normalized field parameters and actual procurement data. The model integrates a correlation analysis of the key field parameters of temperature, acid gas content, salt concentration, flow velocity, and water cut with a weighted effectiveness coefficient. A dataset of operational records was coupled with factual procurement prices from 2020 to 2025 to simultaneously optimize inhibitor type and dosing. The novelty lies in the multiplicative weighting scheme and the concept of critical deviation thresholds, which allow engineers to identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising the 90% protection target. Application of the model presented in this article allows a reduction in annual chemical-related operational expenditures. The proposed methodology provides petroleum engineers with a robust, data-driven screening tool to design cost-effective chemical treatment strategies that maintain corrosion protection and reduce environmental load, thereby advancing oil field chemistry technology and supporting efficient oil and gas field development.