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US 4,608,859 AGranted
Process and apparatus for analyzing cutting from oil and gas wells
AssigneeMicrolytics, Inc.
InventorMark G. Rockley
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMicrolytics, Inc.
InventorMark G. Rockley
Estimating the term…
A process for analyzing a sample of cuttings from oil or gas wells includes as its first step the determination of the water and light hydrocarbon content of the sample. The sample may then be sieved to remove any powders which may affect subsequent steps. The sample is also sieved to separate it into medium and large size fragments which are then weighed. A medium sized fragment is ground, mixed with potassium bromide (KBr) and tested with a Fourier transform infra red spectrometer to determine its mineral content. The larger size fragments are heated in an oven to burn off their volatiles and reweighed to determine their heavy hydrocarbon content. The large size fragments may now be tested with a helium pycnometer to determine the grain density of the sample, a second pycnometer, which uses a clay suspension as the working fluid, to determine the bulk density and porosity of the sample and a permeameter to determine the permeability of the sample. A conventional porosimeter may be used if a pore spectrum of the cutting is desired.
A process for measuring the water and light hydrocarbon content of a sample of known weight of a cutting from an oil or gas well, which comprises the steps of heating the sample to about between 105.degree. and 110.degree. C. to volatilize substantially all of the water and light hydrocarbon molecules contained in the sample, passing the volatilized water and light hydrocarbon molecules through a plurality of molecular sieves having an initially known weight and having pore sizes selected to separate substantially all of the volatilized water molecules from the volatilized light hydrocarbon molecules and to retain substantially all of the volatilized water molecules, weighing the sample after substantially all of the water and light hydrocarbon molecules contained therein have been volatilized and weighing the molecular sieves after substantially all of the water molecules volatilized from the sample have been retained thereby.
A process for measuring the water and hydrocarbon content of a sample of a cutting from an oil or gas well, which comprises the steps of weighing the sample, heating the sample to volatilize water and hydrocarbon molecules contained therein while concurrently exposing the sample to a flow of gas to carry from the sample the volatilized water and hydrocarbon molecules given off by the sample, passing the gas carrying the volatilized water and hydrocarbon molecules through a molecular sieve of an initially known weight to separate the water molecules from the hydrocarbon molecules and to retain the water molecules, reweighing the sample after the water and hydrocarbon molecules have been volatilized and weighing the molecular sieve retaining the water molecules.
A process for analyzing cuttings from oil and gas wells, which comprises the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.