High Performance Elastomers & Polymers For Oil & Gas Conference Proceedings

Despite – or perhaps because of – the global credit crisis, the price of oil is now rising once again, fuelled by speculation of an economic recovery and investments into oil markets. Whilst the global outlook is optimistic, political pressures and environmental concerns have made new oil deposits more difficult and expensive to find in recent years. With the prospect of a decreasing supply of oil now widely publicised, the industry is left with two choices: 1. Seek innovative ways to prolong the productivity of mature fields and focus efforts on the extraction of oil from existing reserves 2. Explore new sources which were previously not economically viable Over the years high performance polymeric solutions have evolved to support the hostile conditions and longer life expectations in both upstream and downstream environments. Designed to withstand extreme service temperature ranges and contact with harsh chemicals, oils and fluids, high performance elastomers and thermoplastics can be found in everything from subsea trees, well heads and umbilicals to piping and chemical processing plants. However, tomorrows materials will need to withstand temperatures and pressures far higher than previously encountered in oil reserves and for this reason there must be continued research, development and qualification to reduce the need for costly intervention and respond to new challenges.