ZTE imaging of tight sandstone rocks at 9.4 T — Comparison with standard NMR analysis at 0.05 T

Abstract

Zero echo time (ZTE) imaging at 9.4T was used to assess local water saturation level in the tight sandstone rocks. The results were compared with the industry standard porosity estimation basing on T2 relaxation analysis at 0.05T. A linear dependence between the two was achieved. This suggests the possibility to use 3D ZTE method for assessment of local amount of water in rocks. The method can be applicable in investigation of water saturation processes in tight rocks, where imaging methods based on spin echo like RARE failed due to short T2, while single point imaging (SPI) is impractical due to long acquisition time.