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In oil and gas industry operations, scale deposition on the surface and subsurface production equipment can cause different problems such as formation damage, loss in production, pressure reductions, and premature failure of down hole equipment. Due to geochemical processes between injection water, connate water and rock, the complex composition of reservoir fluids make it difficult to control the inorganic scale formation. Carbonate (calcium), sulfide (iron, zinc), and sulfate (calcium, barium, strontium) scales are more common in oilfield applications. The scale formation depends on several factors that include, but not limited to, temperature, pressures, solution saturation and hydrodynamic behaviour of the flow. This paper reviews different types of scales that are common in oil and gas production operations, their sources and formation mechanisms. The focus of this review is on the different chemicals that are …