Digital Rock Physics in Cuttings Using High-Resolution Thin Section Scan Images

Abstract

Digital rock physics (DRP) has undergone significant advancements in the use of various imaging techniques to acquire three-dimensional volumes and images of rock samples for the computation of petrophysical properties. This study focuses on developing a DRP workflow using high-resolution thin section scans for computing porosity and permeability in cuttings samples. The workflow was tested on quarry sandstone plug samples and artificially generated pseudo-cuttings before applying it to real cuttings from oil and gas wells. The results show that the porosity and permeability values obtained through the DRP workflow are statistically equivalent to those obtained through conventional routine core analysis (RCAL). The workflow was also able to handle the presence of various lithologies in real cuttings samples. The study demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining porosity and permeability values in cutting samples using the DRP approach, offering a fast and cost-effective methodology that provides additional data and allows linking petrophysical properties to image data from the cuttings.