Victrex plc, UK-based manufacturer of high-performance materials, announced that it's VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer has been selected by Western Falcon (Texas, USA), a major manufacturer of tubular linings for downhole applications, to design a new high-performance seamless thermoplastic liner. According to the company, the new liner - Extremetube* - offers optimal resistance to damage from artificial lift rod wear, wireline and slickline, coiled tubing, and other common downhole tools due to its unique combination of tensile strength, chemical resistance, ductility, temperature capabilities and resilience offered by VICTREX® PEEK™. VICTREX PEEK polymer is one of the strongest high tensile (14,500 psi) and high temperature (260°C/500°F) polymers on the market currently. It maintains short-term mechanical properties at temperatures approaching its melting point of 340°C/644°F and offers the broadest range of resistance to acids, surfactants, solvents and steam. In addition, VICTREX PEEK polymer is highly abrasion and chemically resistant to well fluids, drilling fluids, and hydrocarbon mixtures while providing extremely low permeability to gasses such as H2S and CO2, the company adds.
Western Falcon's exclusive mechanical bonding process, coupled with the elasticity of VICTREX PEEK polymer allows the protective liner to move relative to the steel tubing without compromising its ability to remain bonded to, and continue protecting, the steel tubing. "The marriage of our bonding process with the remarkable properties of VICTREX PEEK polymer represents a true breakthrough that offers our industry a real cost-effective technology to replace expensive corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) tubulars with our lined standard American Petroleum Institute (API) steel OCTG," says Rob Davis, Vice President, Western Falcon.
16-Apr-09 
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