Guildford, UK-based firm MR Solutions has partnered with New Brunswick, Canada-headquartered Green Imaging Technologies to bring what they are calling a “complete rock core imaging solution” to the sector: the ImaCore 3017.

While rock core analysis traditionally involves providing measured data, equipment limitations can result in final analysis that involves using theories to understand what is happening at the pore level.

The ImaCore 3017 will virtually remove these resolution limitations by allowing customers to “bolster the theoretical” with actual images of all the fluid present in the rock core sample, and thus the pore network. Three orders for this system have already been placed within the oil and gas sector.

MR Solutions CEO David Taylor said Green Imaging had been offering rock core analysis using NMR and MRI technologies for 10 years and had built an “enviable reputation” as the leading application experts in the field.

Green Imaging CEO Jill Green described the partnership as a “win-win” for both companies.

“Together we can bring leading edge technology to our customers to provide a solution that the oil and gas industry needs and wants,” Green said.

MR Solutions’ unique cryogen-free MRI imaging technology is highly versatile as the magnet field can be adjusted from 0.1T to 3.0T, depending on image requirements. Sample sizes can range from 1 inch to 4 inch diameters, and ample space is provided for pressure and flow cells, allowing users to make measurements at reservoir conditions and to perform high resolution flow studies.

MR Solutions’ technology, including the latest 3D imaging pulse sequences, is combined with Green Imaging’s software products to provide an easy to use interface.

This provides workflow management, easy calibration, system monitoring and end results matching the industry’s best practices for rock core analysis.

The ImaCore system allows oil and gas sector customers to understand the complex mechanisms and processes happening within rock core samples and interpolate that understanding across entire reservoirs.