ABSTRACT
A knowledge of the mineralogy of hydrocarbon-bearing rocks is essential in the interpretation of reservoir rocks for petroleum exploration and production. The mineralogical effects on the characteristics of reservoir rocks are often profound, and some of the affected properties are listed in Table 1. Several techniques are used either alone or in combination to characterize the mineralogy. One of the most important techniques is X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The technique is almost indispensable, and is used to (1) characterize the mineralogy of whole rocks, (2) determine the types of clay minerals, (3) determine the types of drilling mud, and (4) identifY down-hole reaction products and scales. A major advantage of this technique is that it can be used for both qualitative identification and quantitative estimation of phases.
