Rock Description PDF

1
Notes on Sample Examination & Description

1- Sand/Sandstone:

1. Rock Type.

Sand SD

Sandstone SST
2. Colour/ transparency

use colour charts

transparent transp

translucent transl

opaque opq
The grains can also have colours. Eg. Greyish pink translucent.
3. Grain Size

1.000-2.000mm Very course v crs

0.500-1.000mm Coarse crs

0.250-0.500mm Medium med

0.250-0.125mm Fine f

Just able to see grains = very fine v f
4. Sorting

Very poorly sorted v ply srt

Poorly sorted ply srt

Moderately sorted

Well sorted w srt

Very well sorted v w srt
5. Roundness

This is how sharp the edges of the grains are.

Rounded rnd

Sub rounded sb rnd

Sub angular sb ang

Angular ang
Rounded Sub Rounded Sub Angular Angular
6. Sphericity

Elongate elg

Sub elongate sb elg

Sub spherical sb sph

Spherical sph
7. Cement and matrix.

Cement is deposited chemically and matrix mechanically
1
st
put the type of cement/matrix.

Calcareous calc

Dolomitic dol

Anhydritic anhy

Gypsiferous gyp

Siliceous.silc
2
2
nd
put degree of cement

Unconsolidated uncons

Poorly cemented p cmt

Moderately cemented mo cmt

Well cemented w cmt

Quartzitic qtzc
Eg. Predominantly well cemented, occasionally poorly cemented.
8. Hardness/induration.

Loose lse

Friable fri

Moderately hard mo hd

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
9. Accessories

Chert cht

Glauconite glauc

Lignite lig

Muscovite musc

Pyrite pyr

Sulphur s

Hematite heam
How the accessory mineral is distributed may also be described.
Eg. Fine disseminated pyrite of loose pyrite nodules.
10. Porosity

This is the gaps between the grains.

None grains are tight together n v p

Poor intergranular porosity pores are not connected p v p

Fair intergranular porosity pores present within grains fr v p

Good intergranular porosity Some pores between grains are connected

Excellent intergranular porosity All pores are connected ex v p
11- OIL SHOWS.

ALWAYS describe the degree of show whether there is a SHOW or NOT.
Example

SANDSTONE: light grey-brown, friable, medium-coarse grain, rounded,
well sorted, trace calcareous cement, trace glauconitic, faint hydrocarbon odour.
SHOW: faint trace light brown oil stain, fair pale yellow direct fluorescence, strong
white streaming cut fluorescence, pale yellow UV residue ring, light brown residue
ring.
3
2- Limestone/Dolomite:

1. Rock Type.

Limestone LST

Dolomite DOL
2. Durhams Classification

Mudstone mdst

Wackestone wkst

Packstone pkst

Grainstone grst

Boundstone bdst

Crystalline carbonate xln CO3
3. Colour of rock

use colour charts.
The dominant colour is first. The least significant colour last.
4. Crystal Size

1.000-2.000mm very coarse crystalline v crs xln

0.500-1.000mm coarse crystalline crs xln

0.250-0.500mm medium crystalline m xln

0.250-0.125mm Fine crystalline f xlm

0.125-0.063mm Very fine crystalline v f xln

0.063-0.004mm Microcrystalline micrxln

<0.004mm Cryptocrystalline crypxln
5. Hardness

Brittle brit

Crumbly cmb

Soft sft

Friable fri

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
6. Shape of cuttings

Amorphous amor

Sub blocky sb blky

Blocky blky

Platy (flat and thin) plty

Splintery splty
7. Crystal Shape (rarely used)

Euhedral (no shape) euh

Sub Euhedral (Slight shape) sb euh

Anhedral (well defined crystal sha pe) anhed

Fiberous (like pieces of material) fib
4
8. Sedimentary structures

Fiberous fib

Sucrosic suc

Vitreous vit

Gritty grit

Rough rgh

Smooth sm

Bituminous bit

Chalky chk

Oolitic ool

Styolitic styl

Waxy wxy

Earthy rthy

Greasy gsy
9. Major Characteristics

Carbonaceous (pieces of coal) carb

Dolomitic dol

Sandy sdy

Silty slty

Argilaceous arg

Glauconitic glauc

Pyritic (fools gold) pyr

Micaceous micac
10. Accessories

Chert cht

Glauconite glauc

Lignite (pieces of fossilized wood). lig

Muscovite musc

Pyrite pyr

Sulphur s

Haematite heam
11. Porosity

No visible porosity n v p

Poor visible porosity (fracture) p v p

Fair porosity (Pin point) fr v p

Good porosity (Intergranular) gd v p

Excellent porosity (Vuggy(Interconnecting)) ex v p
5
3- Anhydrite

1. Rock Type

Anhydrite ANHY

use colour charts

transparent transp

translucent transl

opaque opq
3. Crystal Size







4. Hardness

Brittle brit

Soft sft

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
Eg. Firm to moderately hard. Can also be more dominant in one hardness
compared with another. Eg. Predominantly hard, occasionally firm.

Amorphous (has no shape) amor

Sub blocky sb blky

Blocky blky


Splintery splty

Fiberous fib

Sucrosic suc

Vitreous vit

Gritty grit

Rough rgh

Smooth sm

Bituminous bit

Calcareous calc


Sandy sdy

Silty slty

Argilaceous arg
6
4- Claystone/Siltstone:

1. Rock Type.

Claystone CLST

Siltstone SLTST
2. Colour of rock

use colour charts.
The dominant colour is first. The least significant colour last.
3. Hardness

Brittle brit

Plastic plas

Crumbly cmb

Soft sft

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
Can grade from one hardness to another. Eg. Firm to moderately hard.
Can also be more dominant in one hardness compared with another.
Eg. Predominantly hard, occasionally firm.

Amorphous (has no shape) amor

Sub blocky sb blky

Blocky blky


Splintery splty

Waxy (looks like a candle) wxy

Earthy (looks like dirt) rthy

Laminated (thin beds through the sample beware of PDC cuttings) lam

Rough rgh

Greasy gsy

Smooth sm

Calcareous calc


Dolomitic dol

Sandy sdy

Silty (for claystone description only) slty

Argilaceous (for siltstone description only) arg

Glauconitic glauc


Micaceous micac
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7. Accessories

Chert cht

Glauconite glauc

Lignite lig

Muscovite musc

Pyrite pyr

Sulphur s

Haematite heam
How the accessory mineral is distributed may also be described.
Eg. Fine disseminated pyrite of loose pyrite nodules. Lse pyr nod
8- Gradational changes.

If the Claystone is becoming increasingly calcareous:
CLAYSTONE CALCAREOUS CLAYSTONE ARGILLACEOUS LIMESTONE.
If the Claystone is becoming siltier:
CLAYSTONE SILTY CLAYSTONE ARGILLACEOUS SILTSTONE.
CLAYSTONE: dark grey, occasionally dark green/grey, firm to hard, slightly fissile,
trace calcareous, rare glauconitic, slight earthy texture
8
5- Halite

1. Rock Type

Halite HAL

use colour charts

transparent transp

translucent transl

opaque opq
3. Crystal Size

>2.000mm Massive crystalline mass xln







4. Hardness

Brittle brit

Soft sft

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
Can grade from one hardness to another. Eg. Firm to moderately hard. Can also
be more dominant in one hardness compared with another. Eg. Predominantly
hard, occasionally firm.

Amorphous amor

Sub blocky sb blky

Blocky blky


Splintery splty

Calcareous calc


Sandy sdy

Silty slty

Argilaceous arg
9
6- Tuff

1. Rock Type

Tuff TF

Use colour charts
3. Hardness

Brittle brit

Soft sft

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd

Amorphous amor

Sub blocky sb blky

Blocky blky


Splintery splty
5. Accessories

Chert cht

Glauconite glauc

Lignite lig

Pyrite pyr

Sulphur s
10
7- Coal/Lignite

1. Rock type

Coal COAL

Lignite LIG
2. Colour

Use colour charts
3. Lustre

Dull dull

Vitreous vit

Waxy wxy

Earthy rthy
4. Fracture

Angular ang

Conchoidal conch

Sub conchoidal sb conch
5. Hardness

Brittle brit

Soft sft

Firm frm

Hard hd

Very hard v hd
6. Compaction

Poorly compacted p cpt

Moderately compacted mo cpt

Well compacted w cpt

Bituminous bit

Argillaceous arg

8. Fossils

Occasionally plant remains
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Oil Show Eval uation

1-ODOUR

The smell should be described in the range of faint, fair to strong, as this will
normally distinguish between condensates, light oils and heavy oils.
2-C hec k the wet s ample und er mic r os c ope

Color [light brown to dark brown]
Distribution [spotty, streaky, patchy or uniform]
3-C hec k the s ample und er f luor os c ope ( F luor es c enc e)

Intensity and Brightness [color depth]
4-Sample C ut with s olvent ( leac hing out of hyd r oc ar bons f r om r oc k )

- Normal Cut (for permeable rocks)
- Crush Cut (for impermeable rocks)
Nature [diffuse, streaming, blooming]
Speed [slow, fast]
Color [pale blue, blue/white to pale white, milky white or pale yellow]
5-Natur al c ut ( s olvent c olor in natur al light immed iately af ter c ut)

Color [Slight discoloration to dark brown]
6-Res id ue ( af ter s olvent evapor ation)

Natural Residue (In natural light)
UV Residue (Under fluoroscope)
Color [Light to dark brown]
EXAMPLE1 :

EXAMPLE2 :

SS:

CLR-WH, F-MGN, MOD SRT, SBANG,HD, W/CAIC CMT, HI GLAUC, FRI,
GD POR, W/ 50% STK, LT BRN O STN, STK,BRI YEL FLU, STRG YEL STRM
CUT, BRI YEL RING.
Sandstone: Clear to white, fine to medium grained, moderately sorted, sub
angular, hard, with calcareous cement, highly gluconitic, friable, good porosity,
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with 50% streaky, light brown oil staining, streaky, bright yellow fluorescence,
strong yellow streaming cut, bright yellow ring.

- If there is little or no cut then a crush cut can be performed. This is when a
sample is crushed slight before adding the solvent. A crush cut will indicate a rock
with low permeability.
- A crush cut is described as a normal cut but it must be noted that a crush cut
was performed.
- If performing a cut on chalk, the sample must be DRY before attempting the cut,
as wet chalk will always produce a weak cut due to poor permeability and surface
tension
- Chemicals Used for Solvent Cut Test

Trichloroethane, Propanol, Acetone and Chloroform

SUMMARY

13
Chemical Tests

1-HCl Effervescence

A quick test can be made with 10% hydrochloric acid to distinguish between calcite
and dolomite.
Separate the cuttings from the sample tray and place in a porcelain spot tray. Add
a few drops of acid to the sample and view the results: -
Calcite: Immediate and violent effervescence, completely dissolving the sample.
Dolomite: Delayed and slow effervescence, increasing on heating the sample.
Mixture: Intermediate reaction.
2-HCl Oil Reaction

I f oil is present, large bubbles will form on a cutting when it is immersed in dilute
HCl.
3-Swelling

Significant swelling or flaking in water is characteristic of montmorillonite or
smectite clays and distinguishes them from kaolinite and illite clays.
On adding distilled water to clay, the swelling can be described as follows:
Non swelling

- No break up
Hygroturgid

- Random swelling
Hygroclastic

- Swelling into irregular pieces
Hygrofissile

- Swelling into flakes (Flaking)
Cryptofissile

- Swelling into flakes after adding dilute HCl
Swelling clays will also tend to be soft and sticky (although oil-based and inhibitive
mud systems will prevent swelling) making sample washing and sample description
very difficult.
4-Sulphate test Gypsum and Anhydrite

To determine the presence of gypsum or anhydrite use the following procedure:
- Crush 2g of washed, dried sample and place in a test tube.
- Add 5ml of dilute 10% HCl acid.
- Heat
- Filter off residue and place in a clean test tube.
- Add approximately 10 drops of Barium Chloride (BaCl2)
If a white precipitate forms,

then the sample is indeed a Sulphate

either
gypsum or anhydrite.
To distinguish between the two, it should be noted that gypsum is not so common
in the sub surface, therefore, the sample will typically be anhydrite. Also anhydrite
is commonly associated with dolomite.
However, to confirm the distinction use the following procedure:
- Heat the same residue until evaporations begins
- Leave for 15mins
If the sample is gypsum, fine fibrous crystals will form.
14
5-Chloride Test

To confirm the presence of salt or Halite (NaCl) the following test can be used:
- Crush 2g of washed, dried sample and place in a test tube.
- Heat in distilled water and filter off the residue
- Place the residue in a clean test tube
- Add 10 drops of Silver Nitrate (AgNO
3
)
If a white precipitate forms then chlorides are present.
6-Alizarin Red

This is another test to distinguish between calcite and dolomite.
This can simply be dropped on to the cuttings

if calcite is present it will turn a
deep red Colour

while everything else remains uncolored.
7-Cement Test

After drilling through casing shoes at the start of a new hole section, it is useful to
confirm the presence of cement.
As it is alkaline, this can be done by adding phenolphthalein (pH indicator) after
washing the sample. I f the cuttings turn bright purple then they are cement.
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SAND STONE CLASSIFICATION

1- MINERALOGICAL COMPOSTION

Sand stone mineralogically consist of the following:-
1- Quartz (SiO
2
) silica 2- Feldspars 3- Rock fragment 4- Clay minerals
5- Heavy minerals
There are three factors play very important rule in the distribution, spreading and
presence of these minerals in any sand stone sample
1-Availability: it means how much the mineral present in the pre-exiting rock
(quantity)
2- Stability: it refers to the chemical stability of the mineral (its resistance to
attack by chemical solutions)
3- Durability: it refers to the physical or mechanical stability of the rock.
2- SAND STONE MATURITY

It means how much the sand stone sample is matured:
1- Mineralogical maturity: - it depend on the amount of the minerals which had
high stability and durability in the sample where as this ratio increase the maturity
increase
2- Textural maturity:
Most of rocks consist of a-framework b-matrix c-cement - so textural maturity
depends on:
1- The ratio between the framework and matrix
(If matrix ratio less than 15% the rock be texturally mature- If matrix ratio more
than 15% the rock be texturally immature)
2- Sorting (If rock is well sorted it called texturally mature rock If rock is poorly
sorted it called texturally immature rock)
3- Roundency (If rock grains are well rounded it called texturally mature rock If
rock grains are angular it called texturally immature rock)
3-SAND STONE CLASSIFICATION

Depending on the ratio between framework and matrix in the sample sand stone
can be classified into:
1- Arenite group: in which the matrix ratio be less than 15 %.( high energy
media of deposition and coarse grains sample)
2- Wacky group: in which the matrix ratio be more than 15 %.( low energy media
of deposition and fine grains sample with high clay content)
4- SAND STONE DIAGENESIS

1-Compaction process lead to decrease in porosity and permeability
2-Cementation by the chemically precipitated matter (calcareous, siliceous,
Ferreganous, kaolinitic). Depend on the ph of the medium.
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LIMESTONE CLASSIFICATION

Durham s Classification

It is textural classification, depending on the ratio between framework (allochems)
and matrix (Micrite) in the sample.
1. Mudstone

Composed of lime mud (smaller than 20 microns) and less than 10% grains
Mud supported.
2. Wackestone

Composed primarily of lime mud, with more than 10% grains (larger than 20
microns) Mud supported.
3. Packstone

Composed primarily of grains, and grain supported. Greater than 10% interstitial
mud matrix and occasionally sparry calcite or pore space.
4. Grainstone

Composed of grains, and grain supported. Less than 10% interstitial mud matrix.
5. Boundstone

Original constituents were bound together and supported in place, by organic
growth.
6. Crystalline

All original textures are lacking due to the effects of re crystallization. Distinct
crystal faces, with occasional relicts.
LIME STONE DIGENESIS

1-Dolomitization process by replacement of Ca with Mg ions which lead to increase
the secondary porosity
2-Dissolution by the action of acidic solution or change in PH of the medium
Flow chart to determine the limestone type

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BASIC TERMS

1-Sphericity: Refers to a comparison of the surface area of a sphere of the same
volume as the grain, with the surface area of the grain itself.
2-Roundness: Roundness, which refers to the sharpness of the edges and
corners of a fragment, is an important characteristic that deserves careful attention
in detailed logging.
3-Sorting:

Sorting is a measure of dispertion of the size frequency distribution of
grains in a sediment or rock. I t involves shape, roundness, specific gravity and
mineral composition as well as size.
4-Cement: I s a chemical precipitate deposited around the grains and in the
interstices of sediment as aggregates of crystals or as growths on grains of the
same composition.
5-Matrix:

Consists of small individual grains that fill intersections between the
larger grains.(Cement is deposited chemically and matrix mechanically).
6-Luster

- Describes the surface features of a cutting under reflected light
- Observe features with naked eye and under microscope and when wet and dry
- Rotating the sample tray under the light source also helps in describing luster
7-Hardness and Indurations

1-Har d nes s is a physical parameter based on the amount of force required to break
apart the cutting using a simple probe
2-Ind ur ations is the process by which a sediment is converted into a sedimentary
rock. It is function of the type and quantity of the cement
Sample Hardness

Definition Hardness
Grains fall apart in dry conditions Loose
Grains can be detached by fingernails, or a rock
sample crumbles between the fingers
Friable
Grains can be detached using a knife or needle.
Small chips are easily broken by hand
Moderately hard

Grains cannot be detached using knife of needle.
Rock sample fractures between grains
Hard
Rock fractures through grains Very hard
as in swelling clays Soft
plastic clay, deforms easily Plastic
as in coal Brittle

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Hardness is a reflection of degree of cementation.

1-Soft or friable 2-Moderately hard; fairly cemented.
3-Hard; moderately cemented. 4-Very hard; well cemented.
8-Micrite & Sparite

1-Mic r ite: abbreviation of microcrystalline ooze ; a precipitate formed within the
basin of deformation and showing no or little evidence of transport; consists of
crystals 1-4 m diameter occuring as matrix (dull and opaque ultra fine-grained
material that forms the bulk of limestones and the matrix of chalk)
2-Spar ite: cement consists of clean calcite crystals, generally longer than micrite,
forming pore filling cement between grains and within cavities
9-Porosity Classification of Carbonate Rocks

- I ntergranular pore space between grains or particles of a rock
- Intercrystal pore space between crystals of a rock
- Vuggy

pore space between grains or crystals of a rock wherein the space is
equal or larger than the size of the individual grains or crystals. I t usually has the
form of irregular voids.
- Moldic due to the leaching of soluble grains
- Fracture
10-Crystal Structure Terminology

- Anhedral - no visible crystal form
- Subhedral - partly developed crystal form
- Euhedral - well developed crystal form
11-MOH S SCALE OF MI NERAL HARDNESS

1-TALC 2- GYPSUM 3- CALCITE 4- FLUORITE
5- APATITE 6-FELDSPAR 7- QUARTZ 8- TOPAZ
9- CORUNDUM 10- DIAMOND
12-CLEAVAGE

is the property of a mineral that allows it to break repeatedly along
smooth, flat surfaces.
13-FRACTURE

is defined as the way a mineral breaks other than cleavage.
14-STREAK is defined as the colour of the mineral in powder form
Percentage of Accessory Minerals

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Notes on Sample Examination & Description

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