Oil & gas breakthrough with Ketron® PEEK stock shapes

NORSOK M-710 compliance has been achieved for Ketron® 1000 PEEK (natural) extruded stock shapes (plates, rods and tubes) by Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products- a further advancement of industry standards. Samples machined from the shapes performed successfully when exposed to 10% hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in 100% gas phase, as described in the ISO 23936-2:2011 standard. The new compliance qualifies not only the resin, but also—mandatory in this qualification process—the process and machinery used by Quadrant in its conversion of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) into semi-finished products, offering the highest compliance ranking of the supply chain to the market. This new breakthrough follows last year’s achievement of NORSOK M-710 multiphase compliance for Quadrant’s Ketron® 1000 PEEK. It is a major accomplishment as the industry prepares for future ISO 23936-1 standards. All tested materials passed the various NORSOK M-710 criteria, which cover such aspects as swell, Young’s Modulus and visual inspection. Based on these results, the qualifying institute, ‘Element™ Materials Technology,’ was able to certify that Quadrant’s Ketron® 1000 PEEK extruded plate, rod and tube are resistant to 10% H2S sour gas at temperatures up to 200 °C. Announcing the test results, Frank Olmos, Global Market Segment Manager Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry at Quadrant EPP, said: “Access to new reserves and deeper targets poses ever greater performance challenges for materials used in oilfield applications. Meeting the latest NORSOK standards is a critical technology innovation criterion for us at Quadrant, allowing us not only to satisfy current industry demands but also anticipate future ones.” "NORSOK M-710 Rev3 has not yet been released, and ISO 23936-1 is being revised, so we exposed our PEEK material to the most severe conditions, as specified in the latest draft versions of NORSOK M-710 Rev3 and ISO 23936-2:2011. Machined test bars were exposed to 10% H2S in 100% gas phase, conditions that are five times more severe than the sour gas phase described in NORSOK M-710 rev2.” For the oil and gas production industry, Quadrant supplies its Ketron® 1000 PEEK natural stock shapes (produced via extrusion, injection- and compression molding techniques) for numerous applications, including well completion, Christmas trees, control systems, downhole tools and valves. The Ketron® PEEK product innovations are a demonstration of Quadrant’s reinforced commitment and leadership role in continued engineering plastics processing technology advancement, and in its support of cost effectiveness in the petroleum industry for research, development and operations.