Benefit of complementary methods for characterizing sandstone cores

Abstract

This paper is based on detailed mineralogical, structural, petrophysical and geochemical studies of sandstone core samples, using routine methods. These include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-Ray Computer Tomography (CT) Scanning, particle size analysis, point counting based on petrographic thin sections, Environmental Scanning Microscopy (ESEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Flourescence (XRF). In this study we demonstrate the feasibility of combing these complimentary methods of measurements in the characterization of sandstone cores. Four types of sandstone (Slick Rock Aeolian, Fife, Locharbriggs and Berea sandstones) that differ in grain size, porosity and mineralogy have been characterized. The result of the different methods used were found to be consistent with each other, but the combination of a variety of methods has allowed a more complete characterization of the rock samples than each method used on its own. The study has shown that rock heterogeneity at the sub-cm scale may have a significant effect on reservoir petrophysical characterization