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    1. Geosciences

    Norwegian trio develop drill cuttings digital visualization tool

    July 9, 2021
    Pandion Energy has issued details of Wellify, a new digital visualization tool for analysis of geochemical and mineralogical data from drill cuttings.
    (Courtesy Pandion Energy)
    Wellify was conceived to provide geoscientists with instant access to the high-resolution photos and mineral analysis delivered by the Released Well Initiative.
    Wellify was conceived to provide geoscientists with instant access to the high-resolution photos and mineral analysis delivered by the Released Well Initiative.

    Offshore staff

    OSLO, Norway – Pandion Energy has issued details of Wellify, a new digital visualization tool for analysis of geochemical and mineralogical data from drill cuttings.

    This the first product developed by Cuttings Insight, a non-commercial collaboration initiated by Pandion last year, with DNO Norge and Spirit Energy Norway as partners and Itera as technical provider.

    All three oil companies are now using the system in their daily operations.

    Wellify was conceived to provide geoscientists with instant access to the high-resolution photos and mineral analysis delivered by another joint project, the Released Well Initiative (RWI).

    Cuttings samples from more than 1,900 wells on the Norwegian continental shelf are being digitalized, and with on average 300-400 samples taken per well, the program has created more than two million files and 30 terabytes of data.

    With Wellify, all the files are streamed through a cloud-based solution, allowing users immediate access without the need to download large quantities of RWI data sets or to install and integrate new software into existing systems. 

    The project, currently enrolling new members, will shortly enter a new phase that will involve investigating additional functionality and potential uses of the data set from the RWI. 

    According to Pandion, cuttings data are sampled through the entire borehole roughly every 10 m (33 ft) as opposed to well cores that are typically taken for limited reservoir intervals. 

    The cutting samples are washed, dried and photographed, and subjected to analyses to determine the mineral composition (XRF) and high-resolution white light and UV light photography. Cutting samples are also subjected to analyses that include: QemScan: quantitative analysis of the rock mineralogical composition; SpecCam: analysis of the distribution of the minerals and hydrocarbons in a rock sample by infra-red camera; TOC (total organic carbon content); and XRD (X-ray diffraction), which involves specification of the mineral composition of the rock. 

    Pandion uses the data for improved stratigraphic control, reservoir characterization, and planning of drilling operations, and to support analysis of seal capacities and reservoir properties which could be useful for identifying reservoir zones suitable for CO2 storage. 

    (Video courtesy Pandion Energy)

    07/09/2021