Drill cuttings refers to any solid material, including rock, sand and shale, which is brought to the surface during the drilling of a wellbore. Cuttings removal is achieved by running drilling fluid over shale shakers. Drill cuttings are formation solids brought to the surface during the drilling of oil and gas wells. Cuttings are typically caught by the mud logger or company representative at incremental intervals and are initially cleaned, dried, and described during the drilling of the well. Most of these cuttings can be used for further analysis to determine completion methods, identify rock properties, etc. The condition of the cuttings will determine which and how many tests can be performed. Cuttings generated by rock bits are usually in better condition than those resulting from diamond drill bits (diamond drill bits tend to crush cuttings and the cuttings may be too damaged for most tests). The best way to determine the condition of cuttings is to observe the size and condition of cleaned cuttings under a binocular microscope with at least a 30X magnification.
CUTTINGS
Custom Photography
Geochemistry
Laser Grain Size Analysis (LGSA)
Sieve Analysis – Wet or Dry
Grain Density Determination
Capillary Suction Time Testing (CST)
Palynology/Biostratigraphy
Geological Services
Scanning Electron Microscopy
Thin Section Preparation
Thin Section Analysis (Point Count, Touchstone)
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)