Petroleum Cores

OVERVIEW

The sandstone cores that are produced from the Berea formation sandstone found at Kipton Quarry are some of our most exclusive and interesting products. Sandstone cores are perfectly cylindrical samples of sandstone that can be used to conduct rock core flooding experiments.

CORE FLOODING

Through sandstone core flood testing, researchers learn new techniques that are cost-effective and energy saving for both the consumers and producers in the oil and gas industry.

All of our sandstone cores come from the Berea formation of sandstone found in areas of Northern Ohio.

WHAT IS ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (EOR)?

Enhanced Oil Recovery is a term used to describe a set of techniques used by oil companies to get as much oil as possible out of an oil well. Consider the following analogy: when drinking liquid from a cup through a straw and you reach the bottom of the cup, it takes extra suction to get the last few drops out of the cup.

A similar thing is happening with oil wells, researchers are trying to learn better ways to get every bit of oil from the existing wells. Building an oil well is a big investment, and companies are always studying how to maintain crude oil production at maximum levels.

When an oil well is extracting crude petroleum from a reservoir, the oil is forced out of the earth by the natural pressure that exists in the surrounding gases. As the well becomes depleted, this pressure subsides, and it becomes more difficult to extract the oil. The solution to this is the injection of steam or other gases in the area surrounding the well to increase the pressure and force more oil through the pump. This method is far from perfect, and EOR is the term to describe the additional processes that scientists are developing to get even more out of existing wells.

This third stage of oil recovery involves many experimental processes that are still under development. Scientists are trying new substances and polymers that can be injected into the oil wells that will influence the crude oil to maximize production. Many of these techniques involve injecting materials or fluids into the well that are designed to reduce the viscosity of the oil to allow it flow more freely into the well head.

This is where our sandstone cores come into play. These sandstone cores from the Berea formation are the ideal candidate for experimentation, because they adhere to specific permeability and quality requirements that closely match the environmental conditions that core flooding experiments are trying to replicate. Our customers continue to return to our core samples because of the quality and consistency of the product we deliver.!

HOW OUR CORES ARE USED

The typical setup for a core flooding experiments involves a sample or sandstone that closely mimics the conditions and permeability of the actual oil well. Our sandstone cores are cut from the Berea formation is a manner that can closely resembles the conditions of the oil extraction sites. A cylindrical sandstone core is loaded into core holder in a lab environment. Then, a syringe pump is used to force fluid into the sandstone core. By studying the behavior of different variables in this experiment, researchers are able to find new and improved solutions to deploy in existing oil wells to maximize crude oil production.