US Geochemical Uses Revolutionary VOC Detector as Part of Oil & Gas Exploration

Increasing demand from oil and gas exploration companies for soil gas analysis and surveys has led Colorado-based US Geochemical to purchase an Ion Science (UK) Tiger volatile organic compound (VOC) detector. This revolutionary photoionisation (PID) device has been upgraded with an advanced data logging feature and is being used to help identify potential drilling targets by sampling headspace hydrocarbon microseepage from petroleum reservoirs.

A petroleum reservoir, or oil and gas reservoir, is a subsurface pool of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. The naturally occurring hydrocarbons, such as crude oil or natural gas, are trapped by overlying rock formations with lower permeability, Reservoirs are found using hydrocarbon exploration methods.

James Fausnaugh, owner of US Geochemical comments: “All petroleum reservoirs leak light hydrocarbons as microseeps to the surface. These microseeps travel vertically to the surface where they can be sampled and analysed using highly sensitive instruments to help oil and gas companies identify potential drilling targets.

James continues: “Until recently, I offered a vapour free hydrocarbon analysis but clients prefer the familiarity of soil gas geochemical testing which is relatively low cost and can help rule out areas of little interest. I saw the Ion Science Tiger VOC detector being demonstrated at a conference and liked its ease of use and robust design. An associate also used one and was very happy with it.”

The handheld Ion Science Tiger VOC detector offers market-leading humidity and contamination resistant PID technology. It was the best performing when tested against competing instruments in humid and contaminated environments where it provided the most stable, repeatable readings.

Providing a dynamic detection range of 1 parts per billion (ppb) to 20,000 parts per million (ppm), the Tiger offers the widest measurement range of any other VOC instrument on the market.

Ion Science’s Tiger also has the fastest response time on the market of just two seconds and can be connected directly to a PC via the USB offering extremely fast data download capabilities.

It has been designed for the safe replacement of batteries in hazardous environments and is intrinsically safe (IS) - meeting ATEX, IECEx, UL and CSA standards.

James concludes: “The Tiger is ready to use, straight out of the box and doesn’t require any complicated set up procedures via a PC to perform basic functions. It is just as quick to clear down.  Since we purchased it over eight months ago, it has proved reliable and accurate so I would definitely recommend it to other businesses.”