Trelleborg seals advance for unconventional subsea wells

TRELLEBORG, Sweden—Trelleborg Sealing Solutions will introduce a range of sealing materials, developed to meet the demands of accessing unconventional wells.

The company said it will unveil the "sophisticated" subsea sealing technology at the Subsea Expo Conference & Exhibition in Aberdeen in February. Called XploR, the sealing materials comprise a range of advanced elastomers especially developed for oil and gas applications, each featuring low compression set characteristics.

The materials are said to exhibit superior methanol resistance and optimal chemical resistance for enhanced oil recovery applications, along with increased high temperature capabilities.

The XploR grades include HNBR materials that exhibit "exceptional" low temperature sealing performance making them suitable for use within high pressure, low temperature applications.

Other HNBR materials in the range exhibit superior low compression set performance and high temperature sealing capability, added Trelleborg.

The range also includes high mechanical-strength HNBR grades, said to provide "outstanding" wear and abrasion capabilities, making them suitable for use in dynamic applications."

The seals, Trelleborg said, are available in all standard international O-ring sizes and cross-sections, and can also be used for custom-engineered and special seal designs.

Unconventional wells are essentially any reservoir that requires special recovery operations outside the conventional operating practices. This means the processing technology must be able to meet high pressure and high temperature (HP/HT) conditions, according to Andrew Longdon, United Kingdom technical manager for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions.

"Conventional subsea operating temperatures of up to +120° C increase in unconventional wells to over +200° C in deep reservoirs, while typical pressures have on occasion trebled from a previous standard of 69 MPa/ 10,000 psi to 207 MPa/ 30,000 psi," Longdon said.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, he added, has "recognized that standard sealing solutions and materials of previous years were unable to withstand the extreme operating temperatures and pressures of drilling at greater depths.

"We knew specialized solutions in both material and seal profile technology would be required in order for the industry to start exploring unconventional wells."