Core analysis in a changing world – how technology is radically benefiting the methodology to acquire, the ability to visualize and the ultimate value of core data
Authors: Lindsay Craig , Braun Edward , Berg Steffen , Krevor Samuel , Pols Raymond , Hill June 
Published: June 2023

Core analysts principally study the storage, flow and saturation properties of porous rocks and sediments. Some of the derived parameters are specific to hydrocarbon production but many have commonality with other subsurface disciplines such as hydrology and soil science. Traditional core analysis involves direct physical experimentation on core plugs to derive a range of parameters used as calibration for conventional well logs, and to predict hydrocarbon reserves and recovery. The mechanisms and processes for obtaining such data have evolved significantly during the last century, from the manual instruments of the mid-twentieth century to the accredited digital data collection and recording of the 1990s onwards.

X-ray micro- and nano-scale computed tomography (CT) imaging led to the development of the digital rock physics subdiscipline in the early 2000s. This has subsequently allowed direct visualization of fluid flow at the pore scale, imaging the wetting phase and multiphase fluid mobility. Multiscale imaging workflows are being developed to overcome issues around heterogeneous rock and the limited field of view associated with the highest resolution X-ray CT images. Hybrid workflows, which combine digital rock physics with traditional core analysis, are becoming increasingly common to meet the challenges associated with some of the most difficult to constrain properties, such as relative permeability.

At a larger scale, the recent development of multisensor core logging (MSCL) tools has allowed the cost-effective acquisition of essentially continuous high-resolution 1D, 2D and 3D datasets from both slabbed and unslabbed whole core. Often aided by artificial intelligence to manage and interpret these large physical and chemical datasets, both new and legacy core can be rapidly screened to allow representative subsampling for detailed laboratory experimentation. The context and data provided by the MSCL then allows effective upscaling of these time- and cost-intensive point-source measurements. In the last decade, extended reality (XR) has resulted in a step change in the ability to visualize and integrate core and core-derived information with other subsurface datasets. A very wide range of scales can be managed effectively, from micrometre- to centimetre-scale petrographical and core analysis data, to metre-scale well logs and up to kilometre-scale 3D and 4D seismic. These tools allow stakeholders to work and meet from any location in a common workspace, and efficiently scale and interrogate data in a virtual 3D environment.

The various advances in core analysis and associated technologies during the early twenty-first century mean that the study of porous media to help enable the energy transition looks assured. During the coming decades, applications as diverse as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), hydrogen storage, geothermal energy generation, mining for critical minerals, palaeoclimate studies, radioactive waste management, and site surveys for windfarms will all continue to benefit from the data and understanding derived from core analysis.