3D rendering of FIB-SEM volume of organic hosted porosity from subsurface onshore US shale, imaged using 2.5 x 2.5 x 5 nm voxels. Kerogen hosted porosity is shown in blue, kerogen in red, quartz in green and pyrite in yellow.

Microscopy Solutions for natural resources

Digital Rock Physics and Core Analysis

Advanced Platform for Multiscale Digital Rock Physics

Complex subsurface systems, particularly unconventional resources, are dominated by nanoscale pore structures such as organic-hosted porosity, complex pyritization and inter/intra-granular microporosity. Image and measure core plugs, end trims and rock cuttings, and petrographic thin sections of reservoir rocks at multiple length scales in both 2D and 3D. These length scales, spanning from plug scale (centimeters) to the smallest pore throats (nanometers), require various imaging tools.

Augment well-log and core analysis data with pore-scale imaging and analysis
Efficiently capture features across eight orders of magnitude
Work in an integrated correlative microscopy workspace

Rock Characterization

ZEISS microscopes coupled with industry leading beam and detector stability, means large area scan be imaged with minimal user interaction which allows to solve the principal issues associated with pore-scale analysis by extending and integrating multimodal analyses over scales ranging from the whole core to the nanometer. Use multiscale ZEISS 3D X-ray microscopy (XRM) Versa and Ultra workflows coupled with novel pore-scale core analysis workflows to solve problems where subsurface physics is poorly understood, such as when trying to understand the wettability distribution in heterogeneous mixed wet systems. Extend rock characterization techniques to perform nanoscale 3D imaging using Focused Ion Beam-SEM (FIB-SEM) on the ZEISS Crossbeam series. Industry-leading beam currents and stability as well as a unique imaging-while-milling capability allow imaging at greatly increased throughput, meaning that you can acquire larger, more representative volumes at nanometer resolution. Patented, real-time tracking technology enables nanoscale isometric voxel sizes. This method also enables real-time slice registration, which minimizes the loss of data from post-acquisition registration and subsequent cropping. This integrated capacity offers a step change in your capability to understand subsurface processes, allowing you to investigate reservoir rocks, and the oil and gas that flow through them like never before. You can also rapidly digitize reservoir rock samples to extract reservoir-quality indicators such as macro and micro porosity, grain size and sorting, and mineralogy, sharing with your analytical labs or collaborations using the ZEISS Axioscan, the ultimate slide scanner for virtual petrographic microscopy.

Multiscale in situ imaging of steady state flow through a sandstone core

In Situ Core Analysis

Examining reservoir rocks at the pore scale poses challenges due to multiple simultaneous physical processes. ZEISS solutions, including X-ray microscopy and integrated geomechanics, offer a universal platform to directly observe processes like wettability changes, relative permeability, pore occupancy, mineralogy changes and reactive processes with in situ techniques. These solutions enable dynamic imaging and characterization, guiding the creation of accurate pore scale digital rock models, leading to improved macroscopic behavior predictions.

Shale Characterization

Shale exhibits complex mineralogy with pores down to the 1-2 nm scale, any hydrocarbon content that varies in maturity, type and spatial relationship to other minerals. In order to understand the total organic matter that may contribute to hydrocarbon yield and its potential accessibility, it is necessary to characterize shale core plugs across multiple orders of magnitude and additionally analyze heterogeneity at these scales.

Visualize and quantify organic-hosted porosity, organic distribution and connectivity in 3D down to 3 nm isotropic resolution
Quantify challenging elemental compositions such as dacrob, oxygen and silfut to enable the mapping of organic macerals in your shale
Characterize shale mineralogy with fully-quantified EDS analysis on any ZEISS scanning electron microscope or FIB-SEM
Investigate multi-scale 3D structure from core-to-nanometer scale
Acquire the largest 3D volumes at highest resolution

Carbonate Characterization

Carbonates contain the bulk of the world's remaining oil and gas reserves, however, their pore structures are difficult to characterize. They typically have highly heterogeneous dual and triple porosity systems, with pores ranging from large macroscale vugs down to micritic microporosity at length scales of tens of nanometers.

Characterize pore-structure and heterogeneity across a wide range of length scales
Use guided sample site selection to non-destructively scan interior volumes and identify regions for higher-resolution interrogation
Plug into automated multiscale workflows using submicron down to nanoscale
3D X-ray microscopes with high-resolution FIB-SEM
Leverage your thin section archive by using confocal microscopy to image pore structure in 3D

Sandstone Characterization

Siliclastic reservoirs often contain complex mineralogical distributions and sedimentalogical features that can critically influence multiphase flow behavior. Study the details and relationships of sediments that have a direct impact on exploration and recovery challenges.

Digitize up to 100 thin sections automatically using ZEISS Axioscan 7 ultimate slide scanner
Correlate light microscope mosaics with SEM and mineralogy maps
Scan your sample in 3D from plug-to-pore scale using ZEISS Xradia Versa submicron and nanoscale X-ray microscopes
Measure and classify minerals in real-time with ZEISS Mineralogic ant consequences for reservoir engineering and optimization