Urethane & Rubber Magazine

A common misconception in the oil and gas industry is that rubber parts are cheaper than polyurethane parts. Urethane can actually be cheaper, particularly in situations where you need larger parts/quantities or several identical parts. The expensive part of casting urethane parts is typically creating the mold. However, once the parts have been molded, there…

In the industrial field, rubber is used to create coatings for tools as well as for other parts. Rubber has endless benefits, such as its durability and strength. It can form a composite component by bonding to nearly any material and can be morphed into complicated structures. Here at Mark Tool, we create custom molded…

When an offshore structure fails, there are typically several reasons why. Corrosion is usually the main offender causing these platforms to fail--costing an estimated $1.372 billion per year.   The deeper an offshore exploration goes, the greater the risk of corrosion. Because of this, it is essential that your equipment is protected. Otherwise, you may…

External corrosion to natural gas pipelines can be extremely dangerous. If not discovered in a timely manner, it can rupture and cause a fire. Thankfully, this can be prevented with the use of high quality products, like SplashTRON®, and proper pipeline maintenance. SplashTRON® is a rubber-based coating that can case and line structures and equipment…

SplashTRON® is an extremely versatile product that can be used for various applications on offshore platforms as well as pipeline coatings. It can be used for J-tubes, spools, Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) Strakes, bends, pipe field joint coating, biofouling, or as a splash zone coating for risers. Below are three ways SplashTRON® can be used…

Custom molded rubber products are one of the most diverse products on the market. They can be used in a multitude of industries, from trucking and railroads, to jetliners, farm equipment, oil and gas, and countless others. These products are used in our everyday lives, and can be found in canning factories, garden hoses, hospitals,…

The oil and gas industry faced many ups and downs in 2018. Brent crude oil prices started out at approximately $66 per barrel, spiked to $86, then finished the year at roughly $54 per barrel. WTI crude oil exhibited a similar pattern, starting 2018 at around $60 per barrel, increasing, then finishing at a yearly…

Urethane products come in many different shapes and sizes. If you work in the industry, you likely already know the many different uses of them, but there are many people who do not work in the industry that have no idea how often they might use these products. Urethane products have uses that vary from…

Products made with custom molded rubber are all used in more ways than we could count. These products are used in industries such as the automotive industry, oil and gas, trucking, hospitals, and more. The food industry, manufacturing industry, and so many more also use plastic molded rubber parts. They play an important roll in…

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has given natural gas and oil production a new lease on life. Fracking is done by pumping a slurry of sand, water and chemicals into oil-containing geological formations to produce “fractures” and release gas and oil.  Drilling and servicing companies strive to achieve greater efficiencies, performance improvements and reduced downtime in the…

Whether it’s water, oil or natural gas, drilling straight down into the earth has traditionally been the best way to go about extracting resources. However, the direction of a wellbore can be changed in a number of ways, and so-called “directional drilling” is today a common alternative to vertical wells. Drillers often prefer directional drilling in shale reservoirs because it is sometimes the best way to access the most…

If you have ever visited the mid-west or western parts of the United States, chances are you've seen those giant wind farms that span hundreds and even thousands of acres across prairie and desert lands. In recent years, the same technology used to drive those powerful turbines onshore has been employed offshore to harvest enough wind energy to generate…

Mark Tool and Elite Elastomers entered into a joint venture focused on the research, development, and end-use application for complete elastomeric subsea high temperature thermal insulation systems which can be installed via three methods to include S-Lay, J-Lay, and Reel-Lay. The newly formed company has been named MTE Engineered Materials. The chosen name represents the combined…

Anybody who has worked in oil and gas knows one universal truth: all steel pipelines corrode. We know what causes pipe corrosion and what to do to minimize it. Properly managing pipeline integrity means waging an ongoing battle against general and localized corrosion, biofouling, pitting and preferential weld corrosion. Losing the fight means risking catastrophic failure.…

Polyurethane is the ultimate workhorse. Whether used as a spray, foam, a flexible, spongey elastomer or a solid that is as hard and tough (almost) as any diamond, polyurethane’s versatility means it can be molded into components of any size, shape and hardness. The oil and gas industry demands a lot from its tools,including customization…