A new set of guidelines outlines a framework intended to help oilfield operators assess and manage scale.
“2026 Upstream Scale Guidelines: Technical Guidance for Consistent Upstream Scale Assessment Strategies” covers field measurements, scale modeling, and risk evaluation to facilitate field management decisions.
Specialists from operators including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering, Harbour Energy, PDO, Repsol, and Shell Exploration & Production Company worked through OLI’s client engagement board to develop the guidelines.
The guidelines were needed, OLI said, because there are long-standing inconsistencies in how scale threats are evaluated.
"Scale management is an area where there is enormous experience across our industry, but much of that knowledge has developed independently," Giulia Ness, OLI’s principal client solutions architect and the lead author of the guidelines, said in a 30 September press release.
"We wanted to create something the wider industry can trust and use. This document reflects the collective experience of people dealing with scale risk in real operations, rather than the perspective of any single company or technology provider."
The guidelines were presented at the SPE Scale Symposium in Aberdeen in May 2026 and are now being made available to the wider industry. By making the document publicly accessible, the author and contributors hope it will serve as a technical reference and support organizations that do not have dedicated scale specialists on staff.
The guidelines outline a scale assessment workflow that begins with representative fluid sampling and chemistry analysis before moving through thermodynamic scale prediction and operational risk assessment. According to OLI, the document connects technical analysis with the decisions practitioners need to make in the field, providing a practical framework for assessing scale threats and determining appropriate mitigation strategies.