ALS provide services in lithological description and interpretation of rocks from hand specimen and petrographic studies of thin sections.
The studies are tailored to the specific needs of our clients, either as studies conducted in association with sedimentology or routine core analysis or as independent studies to address specific objectives such as formation damage, and diagenetic and basin studies.
Experienced ALS petrographers provide qualitative descriptions of texture, mineralogy, porosity, grain size at various levels of detail, supported by annotated photomicrographs at high and low magnification.
Quantitative analyses by point counting on thin sections are also available and provide minerals and pore space distributions as percentages of the rock volume. Modal analysis data can be specifically input to Touchstone software if requested.
Our petrographers also manage complete and interpretative geological or diagenetic studies which may include complementary wireline log, sedimentological, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, grain size and routine core analysis data.
Applications
- Characterization of rock type
- Reservoir quality evaluation
- Determination of sediment provenance
- Diagenetic and basin studies
- Formation damage and scaling
- Well logs evaluation
- Well to well correlation
- Identification of microporosity by fluorescence microscopy on thin sections impregnated with epifluorescing epoxy.
- Specialist diagenetic study, including cathodoluminescence microscopy, fluid inclusion microthermometry and stable isotope analyses.


