ABSTRACT
The early determination of rock petrophysical properties is one of the main concerns during the petroleum reservoir characterization process because it impacts directly the reserves (porosity, saturation) and also the well deliverability (permeability). Logs generally provide a good estimate of porosity and saturation along the well, but permeability is more difficult to measure especially in carbonates. Drill cuttings can provide additional information on the petrophysical properties of the reservoir. In this paper, we have described a method for measuring permeability on drill cuttings with the following capabilities: size of cuttings down to 1 mm diameter, volume of cuttings around 1cm3 (2–3 grams of dry cuttings), permeability from the microDarcy to around 100 miliDarcy. The main constraint of the method is the need for consolidated cuttings with a porosity value larger than 4% in order that a minimum volume of air needs to be compressed during the cutting pressure increase. Porosity is difficult to measure on small cuttings. The more accurate method is based on NMR relaxometry with an apparatus dedicated to the measurement of small volumes.
