Oil and Gas Sealing Guide

Oil Exploration and Extraction

Oil exploration and extraction presents very challenging conditions for Elastomeric seals; a combination of extreme temperatures, aggressive chemicals and gases, abrasive media, high pressure and destructive forces, subject seals to the harshest environments in the world.

In addition, the techniques employed to exploit reserves are becoming more complex  with operations moving to more remote locations and deeper well depths, extending the operating demands on the seals even further.

Marco Rubber and Plastics offers a wide variety of products and materials to meet the need of our customers in the Oil field and gas, Marco Rubber understands the nature of high pressure high temperature environments associated with Oil and Gas exploration and transportation.

Marco has developed an extensive line of Markez Perfluoroelastomers dedicated to our Oilfield and Gas customers. Markez is similar to Kalrez® and Chemraz® at significant cost savings and custom O-ring sizes are supplied without additional tooling or setup charges.

Explosive Decompression

Explosive Decompression (ED), also referred to as Rapid Gas Decompression (RGD), is a failure mechanism of elastomer seals that is due to the rapid decompression of gaseous media.

When elastomer seals are exposed to high-pressure gas for a prolonged period the gas permeates into the seal material. When the external pressure is reduced, the gas which is dissolved within the seal material comes out of solution to form micro bubbles. As the gas expands, it may permeate out of the seal material. However, if the rate of decompression (and hence expansion) is high, gas which is trapped within the seal can cause fissuring and result in seal failure. Marco Rubber offers several materials to prevent this Phenomena and minimize its effects, please refer to the chart below.

Common Product Types

General Material Guide for Common Applications & Environments

Popular Marco Compounds for Oil and Gas Applications

Compound #	Datasheet	Base Material	Hardness	High Temp °F (°C)	Low Temp °F (°C)	Steam <300 °F	Steam <400 °F	H2S (%)	Features
						GreatGoodFairPoor	GreatGoodFairPoor
B1000		BUNA-N (NBR)	70	225 (107)	-40 (-40)	Poor	Poor	<1	Lowest cost highest inventory general purpose
B1001		BUNA-N (NBR)	90	225 (107)	-40 (-40)	Poor	Poor	<1	90 durometer NBR for higher pressure applications
B1083		BUNA-N (NBR)	70	275 (135)	-65 (-54)	Poor	Poor	<1	Good for lower and higher temperature applications
R1001		HNBR	70	300 (149)	-40 (-40)	Good	Poor	<5	Black general purpose HNBR
R1008		HNBR	90	350 (177)	-10 (-23)	Good	Poor	<5	90 durometer Explosive Decompression Resistant HNBR, tested to NorsokM-710.
L1000		Aflas® (TFE/P)	80	450 (232)	25 (-4)	Great	Good	<30	General purpose Aflas®, steam, sours gas and acid resistant.
L1009		Aflas® (TFE/P)	90	475 (246)	32 (0)	Great	Good	<30	90 Durometer Aflas for explosive Decompression applications tested to Norsok M-710.
V1000		FKM Viton®	75	437 (225)	-15 (-26)	Fair	Poor	<1	Lowest cost highest inventory general purpose commodity A-type FKM Viton
V1020		FKM Viton®	75	437 (225)	-6 (-21)	Good	Fair	<20	Viton® ETP type FKM offers improved base, amines, ketones, MTBE, MEK, MIBK resistance
V1038		FKM Viton®	75	437 (225)	-40 (-40)	Good	Fair	<5	GLT Type FKM with lower temperatre resistance and improved chemical resistance
V1090		FKM Viton®	90	437 (225)	-40 (-40)	Good	Poor	<5	90 durometer GLT Type FKM Wide temperature range for explosive decompression applications, Norsok and Nace tested.
V1160		FKM Viton®	90	437 (225)	-50 (-46)	Great	Fair	<5	90 durometer XLT Ultra Low Temperature Type FKM. Excellent high pressure and explosive decompression resistance. Norsok and Nace tested.
V1186		FKM Viton®	75	437 (225)	-54 (-48)	Good	Poor	<5	Ultra Low temperature FKM with better chemical resistance than standard type A
Z1028		Markez® FFKM	75	575 (302)	5 (-15)	Great	Great	<30	Best value general purpose performance compare to Kalrez® 6375 and Kalrez® 4079
Z1321		Markez® FFKM	75	475 (246)	-45 (-43)	Great	Fair	<30	Improved low temperature resistance wide chemical resistance. Compare to Kalrez® 0040
Z1322		Markez® FFKM	90	465 (241)	-50 (-46)	Great	Fair	<30	Lower temperature resistance, AED explosive decompression resistance, providing the best overall temp range and Chemical resistance. Compare to Kalrez® 0040
Z1317		Markez® FFKM	90	500 (260)	5 (-15)	Great	Good	<30	AED, tested to Norsok & Nace TM0297 standard, resistance to methanol, sour gas and steam, compare to Kalrez® 0090, Kalrez® 7090 and Kalrez® 3018
Z1412		Markez® FFKM	90	590 (310)	5 (-15)	Great	Great	<30	Higher temperature AED, resistance to Sour gas and associated chemicals and steam Compare to Kalrez® 7090, Kalrez® 3018 and Chemraz® 510
Z1400		Markez® FFKM	75	635 (335)	-5 (-21)	Good	Fair	<30	Highest temperature FFKM with best long term compression set resistance up to 335ºC, short exposures up to 350ºC, Low outgassing, high purity with a wide range of chemical, acid, and solvent resistance. Compare to Kalrez® 7075, Kalrez® 4079 and Kalrez® 8900

Oilfield Chemical Resistance Guide

The information given in this guide is believed to be reliable, but no representation, guarantees or warranties of any kind are made to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose, please consult our engineers engineering@marcorubber.com for any specific requirement.