Oil and Gas Sealing Guide

Products and Materials Designed for the Demanding Environments of the Oil and Gas Industry.

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.

O-ring Failure Explosive Decompression

Common Product Types

  • O-rings
  • X-rings
  • V-rings and Packings
  • Custom Gaskets
  • Back-up rings
  • PTFE seals and O-rings
  • SES spring energized seals
  • Cap Seals

General Material Guide for Common Applications & Environments

ApplicationRecommended Material Types
Prolonged exposure to high pressure gas (e.g. downhole applications)Anti Explosive Decompression (AED) rated compounds made from Markez® FFKM, FKM / Viton®, FEP / Aflas®, HNBR
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) / sour gas exposureMarkez® FFKM, FEP / Aflas®
Methanol exposureMarkez® FFKM, FEP / Aflas®
Low temperature exposureSpecialty low temperature formulations of Markez® FFKM, FKM / Viton®, FEP / Aflas®, HNBR
Ultra high temperature exposureMarkez® FFKM, FKM / Viton®, FEP / Aflas®"

Popular Marco Compounds for Oil and Gas Applications

Compound #DatasheetBase MaterialHardnessHigh Temp °F (°C)Low Temp °F (°C)Steam <300 °FSteam <400 °FH2S (%)Features
BUNA-N (NBR)70
225
(107)
-40
(-40)
Poor
Poor
<1Lowest cost highest inventory general purpose
BUNA-N (NBR)90
225
(107)
-40
(-40)
Poor
Poor
<190 durometer NBR for higher pressure applications
BUNA-N (NBR)70
275
(135)
-65
(-54)
Poor
Poor
<1Good for lower and higher temperature applications
HNBR70
300
(149)
-40
(-40)
Good
Poor
<5Black general purpose HNBR
HNBR90
350
(177)
-10
(-23)
Good
Poor
<590 durometer Explosive Decompression Resistant HNBR, tested to NorsokM-710.
Aflas® (TFE/P)80
450
(232)
25
(-4)
Great
Good
<30General purpose Aflas®, steam, sours gas and acid resistant.
Aflas® (TFE/P)90
475
(246)
32
(0)
Great
Good
<3090 Durometer Aflas for explosive Decompression applications tested to Norsok M-710.
FKM Viton®75
437
(225)
-15
(-26)
Fair
Poor
<1Lowest cost highest inventory general purpose commodity A-type FKM Viton

The information on this page is to the best of our knowledge accurate and reliable. However, Marco Rubber makes no warranty, expressed or implied, that parts manufactured from this material will perform satisfactorily in the customer's application. It's the customer's responsibility to evaluate parts prior to use.

The temperature ranges presented on this page are approximations for dry air service only and should not be used to determine design specifications or end-use temperature limits. Actual temperature range of a compound in an end-use application is highly dependent on part type, hardware configuration, applied forces, chemical media, pressure and thermal cycling effects, and other factors. The most practical way of determining an end-use temperature range is testing in the actual application conditions. Consult a Marco Engineer for more details.


Oilfield Chemical Resistance Guide

Marco Material TypeV1090 FKMV1160 FKML1009 FEPMR1008 HNBRB1000 NBRZ1028 FFKMZ1412 FFKM
Acid
Great
Great
Great
Good
Good
Great
Great
Alkanes
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Amines
Fair
Poor
Good
Poor
Poor
Great
Great
Base Oil
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Biocides
Fair
Fair
Good
Good
Good
Great
Great
Biodiesel
Great
Great
Great
Good
Fair
Great
Great
Bioethanol
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Brine (Chloride)
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great

Rating Scale:
1 = Little or no effect
2 = Possible loss of some physical properties,
3 = Noticeable change in physical properties
4 = Not suitable for service

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.