QEMSCAN Analysis of Various Lithologies from Tight- and Shale-Gas Plays in Alberta

As part of a research project, the Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) provided SGS Canada Inc. with 12 samples for analysis from a number of different tight-gas and shale-gas plays throughout Alberta. The samples were submitted to SGS's Advanced Reservoir Quality Services (ARQS) team for mineralogical and textural characterization using Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN). ARQS is a lithological, mineralogical and textural analysis service which draws on a number of different analytical methods, depending on the study.

In order to characterize the mineralogy and texture of the core samples, the following test programme was undertaken:

QEMSCAN analysis on a transverse section through all samples to provide a mineralogical image of the samples.

Data outputs from this study include, for each sample:

• Quantitative bulk mineralogical abundance data (mass and area %)
• Mean mineral size data for each reported mineral
• Calculated grain density
• Macroporosity estimation
• Mineralogical images (i.e. mineral maps) for each sample.

The appendix to this file contains the contractors report.