Wellsite XRF Training Manual PDF

1. ***XRF Field Kit:* Please verify that you have everything you need before the job begins. If you need anything, contact your local Ops manager immediately.** XRF Field Kit - **XRF Instrument** - (1 or 2 Cases and/or a backpack depending on the instrument being used) - The...

1. ***XRF Field Kit:* Please verify that you have everything you need before the job begins. If you need anything, contact your local Ops manager immediately.** XRF Field Kit - **XRF Instrument** - (1 or 2 Cases and/or a backpack depending on the instrument being used) - The Handheld XRF instrument - XRF instrument stand -- type of stand depends on the instrument in use - Power cord for the instrument - UPS / power strip -- prevents damage and surges that may affect data results - Dedicated Laptop - Power cord for the laptop - USB cord -- to connect instrument to laptop - Nose cover -- if using the Bruker Tracer - Sample Stage -- if using the Bruker Tracer (if using the Niton, all these are in the stand) - Extra nose film sticker -- do not replace before speaking to SME - THUMB DRIVE -- for pulling raw data 1. **Standard Reference Powders** - These powdered reference materials are in sample cups and have a thin film on them. They are in the case or in a secondary box. They cannot be lost or spilled or broken. We only have these few standards, and they are \$\$\$\$. - The SME will instruct you on which standards will be used on which job as selection depends on expected lithology. Periodically the thin film will need to be replaced on the standard cups before a job begins. The SME will instruct you on whether or not to change the thin film. Communication is key. - Ball Mill -- Reusch 400 - Power cord - Balls - Crucibles/Grinding Jars (2) - Transport bolts may be in place beneath the instrument when in transit. Please do not loose these or the wrench taped to the bottom to remove and replace them. - Field Supplies - Rubbermaid Tub - At least 300 cups and rings (100 ea. bag so 3 bags) - 300 thin films (100 ea. Box so 3 boxes) - Large mesh (10µ) and fine mesh sieves (60µ) for sample collection and cleaning - Please use the sieves with care. Do not gouge with a spoon or scoopula and do not beat against the shaker. We want you to have all you need to do the job but we also do not have an unlimited supply and the shop may be some distance from your wellsite. - 10 ml glass beaker (2) - Scoopula - Digital Pocket Scale - Pen Magnet - Alcohol (squirt or spray bottle) - Lighter Fluid - 3 clean towels - 3 rolls of paper towels - Enough sample envelopes for the required cuttings collection per client (dry, wet etc.) plus enough to save the XRF sample powders. - Use about 20 pieces of copy paper, provided in the unit with the printer, and a pair of scissors to cut the paper into four squares or quarters so you now have 80 paper squares. These will be used in the sample preparation section below when releasing the powdered cuttings from the ball mill. Sample cups and rings (we use the thicker rings to hold the thin film in place on top of the cup. The thin ring are not used).   Thin Films Scoopula/spatula Beaker Digital Scale **Setting up instrumentation:** Two main instruments are provided to you for running XRF on cutting samples, an XRF instrument and a Ball Mill for preparing samples. We run a few different manufacturer handheld XRF instruments in the field, primarily the Bruker Tracer 5i handheld XRF instrument and the Niton handheld instrument by Thermo Fisher. Set up generally includes mounting the instrument into the instrument stand and connecting power cords and a dedicated laptop. Then a USB cord connects the instrument to the laptop. All instrumentation, cords, and laptop are provided to you in one or more hard cases. ***There will be a power point on the desktop of each instrument detailing the set up and operation of the XRF handheld instrument you have been assigned.*** Cutting samples are cleaned and powdered (sample prep covered fully in a later section) via a Reusch 400 Ball Mill. See page 1 of this document for a photo of the ball mill. ***Set up and operating instructions for the Ball Mill are below.*** **Set up of the Ball Mill:** 1. There is power cord with the ball mill. Plug it into the back of the instrument. 2. There may be two transport bolts underneath the ball mill. A wrench to remove them is taped underneath the instrument. Gently and carefully tip back the ball mill to see if there are any bolts in the two transport bolt holes. Remove the transport bolts if they are present beneath the instrument. Do not lose them or the wrench, you will need to put them back when you break down. 3. There are two crucibles already amounted in the arms of the ball mill instrument. (again, refer to the images on page one of this document for part photos) 4. There are several metal (silver) or silica (white) balls either in the left side crucible or in a separate jar. Locate your balls and do not lose them. You will need them for sample preparation. 5. You can now plug the instrument into the outlet in the unit. 6. The Ball Mill is pre-set to run at 30rpm for 3 minutes. If the settings are set incorrectly or there is any other operational issue, contact the XRF subject matter expert or your local operations manager for assistance. **Please set up early.** - If you are missing any parts or have any questions, contact your operations manager and the XRF subject matter expert. - When you set up, please do not place the ball mill and instrument right next to each other in the unit as the shaking motion of the ball mill may affect data results. 1. **Preparing to run samples:** Before you can begin running cutting (formation) samples, we must run standard reference material/powders to verify that the instrument is working properly and for the XRF Subject Matter Expert/interpreter to prepare the Excel Data Processing Workbook you will use to process sample data for delivery to the client and data for the mineralogy you will put on the mudlog. The standard reference materials are powdered rock samples provided to you in sample cups. They have a thin film in place. The thin film cannot be touched or placed on any surface. Use another, empty sample cup turned upside down and rest the standard sample on top of it, film side down. Keeping them this way throughout the job prevents them from touching any surface or being jostled or turned. You will use these at the beginning of a job and you will run them 3 times each after every 10 formation samples run. They are marked on the bottom by name. These are known reference material so we can verify that the instrument is giving good data, and the results are also used by the XRF interpreter to provide you with the aforementioned Excel Data Processing Workbook you will need to process data (processing data instructions will come in a later section). Follow these directions and the best practices that you have been shown in the field. **These standards are costly and, in some cases, irreplaceable.** - **About 3 hours before you start collecting cuttings samples for XRF, run 5 of each of the standards you have been provided.** - **Email the raw data results for the standard runs to the XRF interpreter. (how to pull data from the instrument is provided in the power point on the dedicated laptop provided with the instrument)** - **Contact the XRF interpreter if you have any questions.** **Catching a Sample:** There are basically two types of sample collection, interval sampling and spot sampling. - Interval sampling or range sampling (top to bottom depth) is the usual way mudlogging cuttings are collected and recorded. This must accompany the use of a shaker board or other device that allows material to pile up into a mound so that sampling is over the interval recorded. - Spot sampling is when there is no shaker board and a sample is collected by just scooping with a spoon or holding the sieve under the lip of the shaker, effectively collecting a 'spot sample' only representative of that depth at the time of collection. 1. Catch the sample using a 60 Mesh bottom sieve and a 10 Mesh top sieve. 2. Make sure to collect enough sample 3. If drilling with OBM, take the sieves of cuttings to the diesel sink and rinse the cuttings material in the bottom sieve under the diesel flow, using your fingers to agitate the cuttings vigorously until the fluid coming through the bottom of the sieve runs clear (enough). This is an initial rinse and required. Further cleaning with occur in the unit. 4. Note cavings. Keep them if you see them and alert the appropriate parties. **Cleaning and drying a sample:** 1. If using OBM, the first step to sample cleaning is performed at the diesel sink usually located near the shakers and pits. Using your finger to briskly agitate the cuttings under the running diesel, agitate the cuttings under the diesel flow until the fluid coming out the bottom of the fine sieve is running as clear as would be expected. I. If drilling in water-based mud, this step is not necessary. 2. Upon returning to the logging unit, clean the bottom sieve material in dawn and water. II. Poor a nickel size amount of dawn onto the cuttings, agitate briskly with your fingers, and run under fresh sink water until the fluid coming out of the bottom of the sieve is running clear. Repeat as necessary. I. This step is not necessary if drilling in water-based mud. 3. Spoon cuttings into a spinner. III. Spoon the cuttings into the spinner. Be careful not to damage the sieve please. IV. Squirting the cuttings with lighter fluid or alcohol once they are in the spinner will assist in cleaning and may speed drying. V. Spin out the sample 4. Dry the samples VI. Dump the samples into the drying sieve and activate the vacuum. Drying should only take about 5 minutes at the most. VII. If samples are not drying within about 5 minutes, heat may be necessary. Contact your ops manager for a pan and skillet and contact your SME for instructions. VIII. *Samples must be completely dry to run XRF.* **Preparing the sample:** 1. Once the sample is COMPLETELY dry, use the scoopula/spoon and pocket scale to measure out 5 -- 6g of cuttings material into the 10ml beaker provided. I. Turn on the digital pocket scale (there is an on/off button top) II. Place a clean beaker on the digital scale III. Push the **TARE** button to zero the scale IV. Measure out 5 to no more than 6g of cuttings material 2. Run the magnet pin through the cuttings in the beaker to remove any bit pieces. Note if there are a lot of bit pieces of course and communicate that to the company man and/or XRF SME. 3. Poor the weighed cuttings into one of the crucibles of the ball mill. We only use one crucible. Usually, the one on the left. The other is just a counterbalance. V. The crucible screws apart into 2 pieces. One end is deeper than the other. Pour the 5-6g of material into the deeper end and put the balls in with the sample. VI. Screw the pieces back together, hand tight. Do not over tighten or you won't get them apart again after milling. VII. Put the Crucible in the arm of the Ball Mill by setting it into the recesses in the holder. VIII. Hand tighten by turning the black screw handle toward the back of the instrument. IX. There is a safety pin on the top of the arm. This must be engaged before starting the Ball Mill instrument. It is a safety measure. X. Press the start button on top of the instrument. - The settings for RPM and time are pre-set at 30rpm and 3 minutes. If the setting does not appear correct, you can use the up and down arrows to set it correctly or call your Ops manager or XRF SME for assistance. - Make sure the correct number of balls are in the crucible with the cuttings. Not all crucibles and balls are the same size. If you are new to this, consult your Ops manger or XRF SME as to the number of balls to use in the crucible. XI. Screw the crucible pieces together and place in the arm of the ball mill correctly and hand tighten (taking note of the safety pin position). 4. Once the 3 minutes are completed and the ball mill stops running, lift the safety pin at the top of the arm and loosen the crucible to remove it from the arm. 5. Unscrew the two pieces of the crucible to release the sample material from inside. Make sure to do this over a clean piece of copy paper (one of the squares you cut when you were preparing at the beginning of the job) and *slowly* tip the crucible and release the material because the balls may come out fast. 6. Using the square piece of paper you emptied the now powdered sample onto (by slightly folding two edges of the paper together carefully), carefully place all the powdered material into one of the sample cups. 7. Remove one thin film from the box of thin films and center over the sample cup - Sometimes the thin films stick together. You will need to rub your thumbs together at the corner of each thin film to make sure you are using only one. Accidentally using two will affect data results. - Please keep the lid on the box of thin films at all times to prevent dust from settling on the film. We want to measure sample, not dust and sample. 8. Use the thicker ring. Center it over the thin film and cup and push down with forefingers and thumbs to snap the ring down flush over the cup. - The thinner rings are thrown away - Make sure the ring is flush on the cup, over the thin film - Make sure the thin film is not broken while snapping on the ring 9. Turn the now prepared sample cup upside down on another sample cup (that is also upside down) and tap them together at least 3 times. - We do this to pack the material toward the inside face of the thin film with out the thin film touching anything, which would contaminate the outer face of the film - Also, If the film broke during preparation of the cup then you will notice because powder will come out when you tap. **Running the Sample:** Instrument operating instructions for each instrument type are on a power point on the dedicated laptop for that instrument. 1. Place the upside-down sample cup of powdered cutting material into the instrument stand or on the nose of the instrument, under the nose shield (If using the Tracer 5i). 2. On the laptop control app for the instrument, **type in the sample depth of the sample** 3. Press START or pull the trigger (If using the Tracer 5i) Again, the control APP for the instrument on the laptop may be different depending on what instrument you are running. Look at the power point for the instrument you are using. For the Bruker Tracer 5i instrument, the Bruker RemoteCtrl App runs the instrument from the laptop after you login to the instrument and get it connected. The APP interface looks like the below. You pull the trigger on the 5i to start the measurement. On the other instruments there is a start button on the instrument control interface.   **Cleaning:** All equipment used to collect, clean, and prepare the samples must be cleaned to prevent cross contamination. 1. Rince out sieves before collecting the next sample 2. Rince out the spinner from any left-over fine cuttings material before using again 3. Use alcohol and clean towels to wipe and clean out the beaker 4. Use alcohol and clean towels to wipe and clean all spoons and scoopulas 5. Use alcohol and clean towels to wipe and clean out the Ball Mill crucibles and wipe all residue off the balls 6. Keep the lid on the thin films to protect from dust 7. Keep the lid down or the nose shield over the nose the instruments at all times 8. Dust is not our friend. Keep the general work area clean and dry at all times. **Download raw data from the instrument:** Depending on which instrument you are using; you will save the raw data to the laptop. The Bruker Tracer 5i and the Niton instruments are slightly different in this regard. Each instrument laptop has a power point detailing how to use the software that connects to and downloads the data. The Tracer will download a.tsv file and the Niton will download a.csv. - Once the data is downloaded onto the dedicated laptop, drag and drop the raw data file onto TEAMS. - In TEAMS 365, there is an XRF Data Team. Under '**files**' is a folder for the client and a folder for the well. Within that well folder will be a folder for "**raw data**". Drag and drop the raw data file from the dedicated laptop to the correct folder in TEAMS to access it from the mudlogging computer for use in your mudlog and preparing/processing the data to provide to the client - If you do not have access to Teams, use the provided thumb drive to move the raw data to the mudlogging computer - ***THE RAW DATA MUST BE EMAILED TO THE XRF INTERPRETER IMMEDIATELY*** OR THE INTERPRETER MUST BE NOTIFIED THAT IT IS ON TEAMS. The interpreter will be doing a QC and preparing a separate interpretation report while you prepare your mudlog report and data to client file. **Processing the XRF data via the "Excel Data Processing Workbook" for use in the Mudlog and to send to the Client:** 1. Download the raw data from the instrument (covered in the previous section and instructions for downloading the raw data are provided in a power point on the desktop of each instrument if you need to review) 2. Move the raw data to the mudlogging computer via TEAMS or a thumb drive. 3. Save the raw file in the appropriate folder. 4. Open the raw data file. (it will be a.tsv or a.csv) 5. If the raw data file is from the Niton instrument and thus it is a.csv file (which will open like an excel), you can skip steps 6 and 7 below. Go to Step 8. If you are running the Tracer, you will need steps 6 and 7 below. 6. If the raw data is the Geoexploration.tsv from the Tracer instrument, then you must copy all the data from the raw data file by *right clicking the mouse anywhere in the body of the file* and click **SELECT ALL** and **COPY** from the drop-down menu. 7. Open a new blank excel workbook and click in the first cell (A1). Click the Down arrow (ˇ) under **PASTE** in the tool bar at top and select "**Use Text Import Wizard**". You will see at the top of the window that opens that there are 3 steps. Click **NEXT** to go to Step 2. There is nothing you need to do on Step 1. On Step 2, select the box next to **TAB** and unselect (deselect) the box next to **SPACE** (which tends to be the default setting). Click **FINISH**. You don't need Step 3 of the import wizard. Your data in the new excel will look the the image below if you are doing this will raw data from the Tracer 5i instrument. If you are using the Niton, again just skip steps 6 and 7 and go straight to step 8. 8. All the raw data will be in this file, even the standard reference powders you are running every 10^th^ formation sample. a. Scroll down to the most recent formation samples data run. b. If you are looking at the raw data from the Tracer instrument, the samples depths are in the last row so you will have to scroll to the end. c. Use this time to look at your data depths. Make sure there are no duplicate depths and that all the samples ran for the full 180 second (Tracer) or 280 second (Niton) cycle time of the instrument and did not stop short (look at the "time" column). d. You can also scroll to Barium (Ba) and see if any samples are greater than 8000ppm and may need to be put on a rerun list. 9. Open the Excel Data Processing Workbook provided to you at the start of the job by the XRF interpreter. \*It is easiest to have both files open and enlarged on separate monitors 10. Paste the formation sample data to the **PASTE DATA** tab in the Excel Data Processing Workbook (paste data tab is shown with some data in the image below). e. *Skip any standard reference samples run*, because those are for the data interpreter and QC analyst. **Putting XRF Mineralogy on the Mudlog**: The XRF Mineralogy data that goes on the mudlog is a condensed version of the full modelled mineralogy. The full mineralogical suite is provided to the client via a separate file. You will make this file in the next section. The mineralogy that goes on the Mudlog is on the "**Export for Mudlog**" tab of the Excel Data Processing Workbook. **Mainlog Software** -- Mainlog requires a.LAS to import the mineralogy that goes in the Mineralogy track on the mudlog. There is a template.LAS file that has the correct mnemonics for the software to recognize and the corrected data from the "**Export for Mudlog**" tab can be easily copied to the LAS. 1. Starting from the excel data processing workbook on the "**Export for Mudlog**" tab, use your mouse to select all of the data by grabbing from cell "A2" (top left of sheet) to the bottom right of the data, up to where the "\#value!" errors begin. Do not grab any of those error cells. (If your well has an "EGR" column then you will want to exclude that column from your selection for now.) 2. Now that you have hi-lighted the data, hit CRTL & C to copy the data, or right click with mouse and select "Copy." 3. Open a blank/new workbook by going to the File menu and selecting "Blank Workbook." 4. In your new blank workbook, right click on the uppermost left cell (A1) and right click with your mouse. Here you need to choose carefully. You will have several options. Select the option that has paste "123" on the name. Check to make sure your data has been correctly copied to the new workbook. 5. In this blank workbook, you can do any necessary editing or sorting of the data without messing up the formulas in the Data Processing Workbook. Once you have organized your data, copy **all** of your data again. 6. Now you will be moving your data to the LAS file. Select all of your previous LAS data, if any, and delete. Make sure to only delete xrf data digits and not the header or column headers. In this blank space you will paste your new data. Save this LAS. 7. Next you will go to Main Log and from the Import menu at the top of the screen select "Import Mudlog Data." 8. A small window should appear where you will then need to find your LAS file. 9. Select your LAS file and open. 10. Under "Available Curves" there will be a window that will have all of the column headers and their mnemonics. Here you will go through the process of assigning each of those curves from the LAS to their correct position on the log. 11. Select your first curve (e.g., QFM\_XRF.%) from Available Curves. To the left of that window there is a drop down menu called "Import As.." From that menu you will select the curve name that matches your LAS curve name exactly (QFM\_XRF.% - in this example). Once you have selected the correct curve name it will appear in the large window below it. DO NOT try to import at this point. Go through every curve until each one has been selected in order and added to that window on the bottom. Select all of them except the "DEPTH.FT" curve. 12. Once all of your curves have been added, click on the "Import" button to the right of the window. 13. Check to make sure your mineralogy has been successfully and correctly added to the mud log. **Geologger Software** -- The XRF Mineralogy from the "**Export for Mudlog**" tab can be manually entered into Geologger. This is the preferred method. You can also copy and paste it in, but Geologger requires a top and bottom depth instead of just the bottom depth and we use just the bottom depth for everything. If you want to paste it in, you have to copy and paste the data from the "**Export for Mudlog**" tab into an empty excel workbook, add a column at the beginning, and create top depths. With this you can copy and paste it directly into Geologger. This extra step is why most loggers just prefer to hand type it in manually, though one must do so with caution so as not to make mistakes. **Creating the Client Data Deliverable:** For most jobs, you will copy the corrected XRF data from the "**XRF Data to Client**" tab from the Excel Data Processing Workbook to a new blank workbook and save the file as "well name\_XRF data to client". Consult your job order and XRF data SME/Interpreter for specific directions for your job and data file naming nomenclature. 1. Starting from the excel data processing workbook, on the "**XRF Data to Client**" tab, use your mouse to select all the data ***and*** the column headers by grabbing from cell "A1" (top left of sheet) to the bottom right of the data. Make sure you grab it all. 2. Hit CRTL & C to copy the data, or you can right click with mouse and select "Copy." 3. Open a blank/new workbook by going to the File menu and selecting "*Blank Workbook*." 4. In your new blank workbook, right click on the uppermost left cell (A1) and right click with your mouse. You will have several paste options. Select the first option available (looks like a clip board with a piece of paper in front of it). See below. This paste option ensures that the data is pasted in with a fixed number of significant figures (0.00) versus all integers (0.00000000000).  5. Check to make sure your data has been correctly copied to the blank workbook. 6. You can now edit the data if needed. Sometimes samples are run out of depth order. So highlight all the data and sort from smallest to largest (image at right for example) using the Sort & Filter button in the tool bar to get the data in depth order. 7. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO DUPLICATE DEPTHS OF DATA TOO 8. Save the file as "well name\_XRF data to client" as a.txt (text tab delimited) - maybe called "well name\_Client Elemental' depending on the Client - check that all files and templates are consistent between jobs (if we have worked with them before) - Some client prefer an excel of the data instead of a.txt. This is file, just make sure you break links in excel before sending. - Call with questions.  **Add this client XRF deliverable to the am and pm mudlog reports.**