Petrological Analysis

JAPEX Research Center is equipped with the facilities and personnel to provide the testing and analysis required in a wide range of fields, from exploration and development to production and transportation, for providing services both in Japan and abroad.

Please refer to Technical Services page about our technical services, including providing research/analysis items and contact.

Summary of Petrological Analysis

The analysis of mineralogical and chemical compositions and pore characteristics of reservoir rocks is essential to uncovering the quality of reservoirs which controls the potential of reservoir rocks to bear resources, such as crude oil and geothermal heat.

In fact, application of a wide variety of petrological analytical techniques is required to determine the quality of reservoirs. JAPEX Research Center has made the maximum use of petrological techniques to unravel the characteristics of reservoir rocks, while pushing forward with the application of these techniques in petroleum and geothermal exploration and development.

Survey/Analysis Items

We have measured the physical and chemical properties of reservoir rocks from various perspectives.

• Preparation of blue resin-impregnated thin sections
  • Prepares blue resin-impregnated thin sections to evaluate pores, etc.
• Examination of thin sections
  • Determines lithologies/lithofacies, the progression of diagenesis and the development of porosity
• X-ray powder diffraction
  • Analyzes mineral composition and crystal structures
• X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF)
  • Determines the constituents of a mineral and the composition ratio of each of such constituents
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
  • Determines the shape of a sample's surface
• Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy with SEM
  • Determines pores and chemical composition of a sample
• Fluid inclusion microthermometry (measurement of homogenization and ice melting temperatures, fluorescence observation)
  • Estimates the homogenization/ice melting behavior of fluid inclusions (i.e., liquid and gas trapped inside a mineral) when they are heated/cooled, and the salinity of the liquid portion.
• Cathode luminescence microscopy
  • Detects and analyzes the light released when a sample is irradiated.
• Analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of carbonate rocks
  • Analyzes the isotopic composition of CO₂ and oxygen produced thorough reactions between powder carbonate samples and phosphoric acid
• Grain size distribution analysis (sieving and thin section methods)
  • Pour samples over a stack of sieves and vibrates them with a vibrator to estimate the weight distribution of samples across the sieves
• Thermal conductivity measurement
  • Measures and estimates the thermal conductivity in each of multiple samples
• Magnetic susceptibility measurement
  • Measures and estimates the magnetic susceptibility in each of multiple samples

Blue resin-impregnated thin section

Technical Service Brochure: Petrological Analysis (737KB)