Analyzing Porosity using Petrographic Imaging Methods: Key for Petrophysics
Abstract
The porosity in rock can be quantified and characterized using a variety of direct methods including imbibition methods, mercury injection, gas expansion, petrography, X-ray tomography, and image analysis. However many of them can be complex and more expensive than petrographic image analysis. In the oil industry, it is a common practice to use the indirect methods such as well-logs and seismic to identify rock properties like porosity and permeability. However, these methods do not always represent the physical reality and need to be calibrated with direct measurements. For that reason, the main objective of this project is to assess the efficiency and precision of petrographic image analysis to provide useful data for petrophysics studies. In order to face this problem, a database comprised of 400 high-resolution images of thin section slides extracted from carbonate rock samples is classified. Once classified, the samples are subjected to experimental methods of measuring porosity using petrographic imaging software. The results demonstrate the suitability of the methods to provide reliable data for petrophysics studies.
Citation
Mcdaniel, Kathleen (2014). Analyzing Porosity using Petrographic Imaging Methods: Key for Petrophysics. Honors and Undergraduate Research. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /152048.