Currently, with the vertical deepening of oil and gas resource exploration and development, the research objects are becoming increasingly complex and the exploration difficulty is also increasing. Conventional, especially unconventional oil and gas exploration and development are facing very severe technical challenges.

The existing recording and logging technologies, such as XRF elemental analysis, XRD mineral analysis, rock debris imaging technology, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc., although they have specific advantages, they also have their own limitations and cannot achieve simultaneous characterization of reservoir elements, minerals, morphology, porosity and other characteristics. Therefore, in terms of work efficiency and technological integration, there is a need for a smart and digital device that can simultaneously meet the requirements of simple sample preparation, easy mobility, high testing accuracy, rapid quantitative analysis of mineralogical characteristics, pore and fracture structure characteristics, and rock mechanical properties.

Based on the above situation, MaipSCAN（ Mineralogy by Artificial intellgence powered Scanning Electron Microscopy ） emerge as the times require. MaipSCAN is a highly integrated next-generation digital mineral analysis system (Figure 1) independently developed by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhejiang Zhongke Ruichen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. It mainly consists of high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, high-sensitivity electronic signal detector, X-ray detector, and multifunctional testing and analysis software.

Figure 1 MaipSCAN appearance image

Overview of MaipSCAN Applications

1. Multiple scenarios: Zhuyue's seismic protection can be applied not only in laboratories, but also in complex environments such as drilling sites and core libraries. It can achieve testing and analysis of various rock samples such as core sidewall core, rock debris, and thin sections, especially making full use of small rock debris samples to turn waste into treasure, greatly reducing sampling costs.

2. Complete parameters: MaipSCAN can provide rich data results, including quantitative data of minerals and elements in rocks, high-definition electronic images, gamma elements, porosity, pore structure, micro cracks (weak surface index), elastic parameters, brittleness index and other key exploration and development parameters.

3. Widely applicable: In terms of geology, MaipSCAN provides high-resolution images for accurate stratigraphic detection. Based on quantitative mineral and element data, it can determine lithology, divide strata, finely divide lithofacies, evaluate physical properties, identify geological sweet spots, compare strata based on lithology, minerals, and elements, and analyze provenance and sedimentary environment; In terms of geophysics, the parameters provided by MaipSCAN can be used to calibrate conventional cable logging, calibrate rock physics models, and generate high-quality elastic property curves; In terms of engineering, MaipSCAN can achieve drilling depth positioning, accurate layer sticking, wellbore stability analysis, assist in horizontal well geological guidance, complete engineering sweet spot prediction, evaluate rock brittleness, optimize horizontal well fracturing section selection, etc.

Technical Features

Powerful software system

The MaipSCAN software analysis system includes three powerful modules: measurement software (Inspector), mineral standard library management software (RockSTDManager), and analysis report software (iCustom).

1、Inspector：

It can quickly set rock sample testing parameters, achieve efficient high-definition BSE image acquisition, and accurately quantify elements and minerals, greatly improving sample testing speed.

Efficient and easy to operate measurement module (Inspecteur)

2、RockSTDManager：

The mineral identification algorithm containing patented technology ensures the accuracy of mineral identification, especially for difficult to identify clay minerals; In addition, the management function of mineral standard library is provided, which can be added and changed to mineral libraries that comply with the research area, making mineral analysis more adaptable and accurate.

Mineral standard library management module for precise identification of minerals (RockSTDManager)

3、iCustomer：

With powerful post-processing and reporting capabilities, from image processing, quantitative analysis, mathematical simulation to result graph drawing, one software can achieve all functions, greatly optimizing the efficiency of later data analysis. It can quantitatively analyze key parameters such as element content, mineral content, mineral particle size, mineral correlation, microcrack density (weak surface index), porosity, and pore structure; Establish a digital rock model based on working conditions and calculate elastic parameters for brittle plastic analysis; Reclassify according to user-defined mineral libraries; Realize batch processing of multiple samples with fast processing speed.

Analysis processing and report generation module (iCustomer)

MaipSCAN Rock Mechanics Model

MaipSCAN can analyze the microstructure and compositional characteristics of rock debris on site, and through scientific and rigorous data algorithms, obtain the rock mechanics parameters of the study area, establish a geological rock mechanics model of the study area, and establish a digital rock model based on working conditions to calculate elastic parameters for brittle plasticity analysis.

Technical Features