Thank you Gregg.
I’m glad to have the opportunity to be here today with Dawn to talk to all of you about the use of field XRD and XRF in mud logging applications. The development of field-based XRD and XRF instrumentation has really expanded the use of these technologies in this industry as an on-site tool.
It has had a huge affect on
- the time it takes to get analysis
- the cost of sending samples back to a main lab and
- the ability to make decisions in real-time
Dawn will be talking more specifically about how the mud logger uses these technologies but first I want to start at the basics of XRD and XRF technology, how they are similar and how they differ
Other techniques calculate or infer what the mineralogy is but XRD identifies and quantifies the mineralogy directly from the crystal structure.
The majority of wells being drilled in N.A. are primarily shales in unconventional resource plays – tight formations that trap the hydrocarbons and require stimulation techniques to allow them to flow.
Using these X-rays, we can now see vivid differences in visually homogenous shales. With clarity, you can see and quantitate the areas of the well that have more carbonates, are more siliceous, and changes in the clay.
Brittleness is directly controlled by mineralogy and the fabric and texture of the mineral components
Accurate measurements of clay content are imperative to evaluating the relative brittleness through a shale play, which can greatly improve the effectiveness of fracking strategies.
XRD and XRF are used in determining the contribution of clay minerals to the engineering behavior of rocks and soils.
Certain clays (smectites) will swell up in the presence of water. When they swell, they can trap the drillpipe and block up the wellhole. You will want to switch to an oil-based drilling mud.
Scaling – seawater can combine with certain minerals (e.g. sulfates) to form scale both in the formation and in the drillpipe. If you see these minerals, you know to not use a sea-water based drilling mud and to be very cautious using seawater in nearby injection wells.
Accurate measurements of clay content are imperative to evaluating the relative brittleness through a shale play can greatly improve the effectiveness of fracking strategies. XRD and XRF are used in determining the contribution of clay minerals to the engineering behavior of rocks and soils.
Using these X-rays techniques, we can now see vivid differences in visually homogenous shales. With clarity, you can see the areas of the well that have more carbonates, are more siliceous, and places of changes in the clay.
One great benefit having of XRD on site is that when problems arise while drilling, such as wellbore stability and fluid losses, the subsequent cavings can be immediately identified to help pinpoint the location of losses.
Trace and Marker minerals have a myriad of applications in exploration and reservoir characterization.
Also, XRD will help define the brittle zones and sweet spots for fracking and production.
(12 minute acquisition time Co-Ka energy)
Looking more closely at certain depths we can see the changes in mineralogy
Our customers are typically doing ~ 5-10 minute test, depending upon how much they care about quantification of the secondary peaks.
Semi-quant RIR data from Terra in blind comparison to lab based system
Not only do the Olympus XRD and XRF instruments provide fast analysis but having them on site eliminates the time involved to send samples to an outside lab. This puts the information in the operators hands almost immediately allowing them to make decisions in real-time.
As you can see from the examples we have given during this presentation - there are many benefits for having these instruments in the well logging trailer as part of the routine analysis.
- They can provide more detailed information than was possible in the past
- They can provide back up information and verification to other analysis tools and
- They can provide data that can help optimize the operations and better understand what is going on under ground
Jose - I would like to extend my personal thank you to Dawn for joining me today and thank you also to Diversified Well Logging for having Dawn collaborate with us on this webinar.
Dawn – (you can chime in with any thank you and closing remarks)
Jose – We are looking forward to answering some of your questions now so I’ll turn it back over to Gregg to get us started