Everyone who works in the upstream industry knows that explosive decompression is a serious concern during oil and gas exploration. Explosive decompression, also referred to as rapid gas decompression, is a failure that occurs when elastomer seals have been exposed to high pressure gas at an elevated temperature for a long period of time. As high pressure occurs, the gas can compress and permeate the polymer of the seal—and when the pressure is reduced, the gas inside expands at a very rapid rate. With this extreme pressure release, the expanding gas can cause fissures, pits, and cracks in the seal: In some cases, the seal can totally fail. For this reason, explosive decompression resistant seals are critical for any high-pressure oil and gas applications.