A Clay Mineralogy Course titled 'Clay Mineralogy and its application to the oil industry' took place in March 2011. This course was designed for oil industry staff to help them understand the nature, properties, behaviour and occurrence of clays in the context of hydrocarbon exploration and production and to demonstrate in a practical way how clay minerals can be identified and characterised using the primary analytical techniques of X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy.

 

The following modules were included:

Day 1

* The Importance of Clays in the Oil Industry
* Introduction to the Chemistry and Mineralogy of Clays
* Principles of X-Ray Powder Diffraction
* Tour of X-Ray Labs
* Separation and Preparation of Clays for XRD Analysis; Practical

Day 2

* Chemistry and Mineralogy of Kaolinite, Illite and Smectite Minerals
* Chemistry and Mineralogy of Chlorite and Mixed layer Minerals
* Principles of Infrared Spectroscopy and Clay Analysis
* Principles of Scanning Electron Microscopy and Clay Analysis
* Tour of IR and SEM Labs
* Measurement and Analysis of Clay XRD Patterns; Practical

Day 3

* Fundamental Concepts in Geology
* Geology of Clays
* Infrared Analysis of Clay Minerals
* Quantitative Analysis of Clay Materials by XRD; Practical

Day 4

* Particle Size, Surface Area and Morphology of Clays
* Physicochemical properties of Clays
* Clay Interactions with Water and Organics
* Clay Minerals and Drilling Fluids
* Clay Analysis and Assessment of Formation Damage by SEM; Practical

Day 5

* Clay Mineralogy and Shale Instability
* Clay Mineralogy and Reservoir Quality
* Round Table Discussion
* Tour of Clay Technology Unit