Energy Exploration

CRDS for Energy Exploration

Engineers prospecting for new gas and oil fields often produce mud gas samples as part of the preliminary drilling process.  A critical piece of information they look for is whether the sample's hydrocarbon content is of fossil hydrocarbon origin or from more recent biomass. This analysis can be done by combusting the mud gas to derive CO₂. The δ¹³C isotope ratio of the CO₂ will then reveal the origin(s) of the hydrocarbon content.

Picarro CRDS isotopic CO₂ analyzers are ideal for this application because they are easily integrated into the combustion equipment, particularly when compared to traditional alternatives such as IRMS (isotope ratio mass spectrometers). Specifically, our CRDS isotope analyzers are compact, rugged and can operate for months without requiring recalibration. In addition, the CO₂ stream can be introduced directly to the analyzer with no sample prep required and no need to remove moisture or other gas constituents. Integration is further simplified because of the fully-featured communications interface which includes both Ethernet and serial protocols.