Ceramics in Gas & Oil Exploration

The gains in crude oil production by the USA have mostly been made possible by deep water drilling, which - you guessed it - has been made possible only through the use of technical ceramic materials.  Seawater impingement damage is a concern for the materials used in marine environments and Ceramco alumina is a highly resistant material for this application.   

In order for companies to collect data in the ocean depths about the environmental conditions before they drill, they use conductivity cells which can measure salinity, currents, and water temperature.  Ceramics have very high compressive strength and do not corrode away in salt water and are not degraded by UV rays which is why they are used in marine environments. 

Natural gas and crude oil drilling implicate extreme material challenges with temperatures, mechanical wear, and high corrosion - a perfect place for Ceramco products.