There is currently significant interest in titanium alloys for downhole tubulars and components
for corrosive oil and gas wells due to their combination of strength, density and corrosion
resistance. These alloys may be able to augment the current list of commonly used materials
available to resist corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in hostile service environments,
especially for high pressure high temperature (HPHT) well applications. However, there has
been only limited service experience with titanium alloys under harsh conditions of H2S, CO2,
brine and elemental sulfur. Moreover, little data exists for non-production environments such as
those used in concentrated brine workover/completion fluids and strong acids used in well
stimulation. This paper will provide a review the results of published studies developed over the
past 25 years for titanium alloys and will focus on their composition, metallurgical processing,
corrosion and performance.
Keywords: Titanium, HPHT, deep wells, metallurgy, corrosion, stress corrosion cracking,
hydrogen sulfide, acid, completion fluids