ISO 23936 as a whole presents general principles and gives requirements and recommendations for the selection and qualification, and gives guidance for the quality assurance, of non-metallic materials for service in equipment used in oil and gas production environments, where the failure of such equipment could pose a risk to the health and safety of the public and personnel or to the environment. It can be applied to help to avoid costly corrosion failures of the equipment itself. It supplements, but does not replace, the material requirements given in the appropriate design codes, standards or regulations.

ISO 23936-1:2009 addresses the resistance of thermoplastics to the deterioration in properties that can be caused by physical or chemical interaction with produced and injected oil and gas-field media, and with production and chemical treatment. Interaction with sunlight is included; however, ionizing radiation is excluded from the scope of ISO 23936-1:2009.

ISO 23936-1:2009 is not necessarily suitable for application to equipment used in refining or downstream processes and equipment.

The equipment considered includes, but is not limited to, non-metallic pipelines, piping, liners, seals, gaskets and washers.