Phase identification in the oil drilling industry

The oil drilling industry can encounter a wide variety of samples, including rocks, scales, cements, cuttings, and muds throughout the drilling process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is an essential tool for phase identification analysis of these commonly identified solids in the oil field.

Three phases are identified in the figure above; the major is a barite phase and the two minor phases consist of calcite and quartz.

The primary goal of this application is to quickly identify the phases contained within the sample material. Data collection with the MiniFlex II combined with data reduction and Search/Match analysis using the Jade software package made quick work of this solid material. Using known reference standards from the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) database, the peak positions may be used to determine the phases contained with the analyzed material.

Tags: composition,  MiniFlex II, powder XRD, phase identification, drilling, oil industry