Overview
EN ISO 23936-2:2011 - "Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries - Non-metallic materials in contact with media related to oil and gas production - Part 2: Elastomers" provides requirements and procedures for the selection and qualification of elastomeric materials used in oil and gas production equipment. Part of the ISO 23936 series, this standard supplements existing design codes and focuses on avoiding material failures that could affect health, safety or the environment.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and purpose: Qualification of elastomers exposed to oilfield fluids and service conditions where failure carries safety or environmental risk. It does not replace design codes but provides material-focused qualification guidance.
- Technical requirements: Defines documentation, manufacturer responsibilities, quality and validation expectations for elastomer production and supply.
- Qualification tests:
- Ageing tests - procedures and test media are specified (see normative Annex A) to assess long-term performance.
- Rapid gas decompression (RGD) - RGD testing procedures and equipment requirements are provided (normative Annex B) to evaluate susceptibility to gas-induced damage.
- Component-specific qualification:
- Bonded flexible hose - criteria for liner materials and other hose layers (detailed in Clause 8).
- Large components - qualification approaches for flexible joints, blow-out preventers, packers and similar items (Clause 9).
- Supporting guidance:
- Annex C: common elastomer types (informative).
- Annex D: service life estimation using the Arrhenius relationship.
- Annex E/F: detailed discussion of physical/chemical ageing and RGD.
- Referenced test methods: The standard references industry test standards such as ISO 37, ISO 815-1, ISO 3601-3, ASTM D412, ASTM D395, API 17K, etc., for tensile, hardness, compression set and O-ring quality.
Applications and users
EN ISO 23936-2:2011 is intended for:
- Operators and asset owners assessing material suitability for wells, subsea systems and surface facilities.
- Manufacturers and suppliers of elastomer components (seals, hoses, packers, BOP elements) who must demonstrate qualification and quality systems.
- Engineering and procurement teams specifying materials and acceptance criteria in contracts and projects.
- Regulators and inspectors seeking harmonized evidence of material fitness-for-service.
Practical applications include specification of elastomer compounds for downhole tools, bonded flexible pipe liners, sealing elements in high-pressure/high-temperature environments, and qualification protocols to mitigate RGD and ageing-related failures.
Related standards
Keywords: EN ISO 23936-2:2011, ISO 23936-2, elastomers, oil and gas production, rapid gas decompression, ageing tests, bonded flexible hose, material qualification, non-metallic materials.