Over 20 years of thin section expertise
TPS Enterprises is a service company that manufactures Thin and Polished Sections. TPS Enterprises is located in Houston, Texas and serves the needs of clients nationwide as well as Europe and the Middle East. TPS has been in business since 2000 and excels at the preparation of thin sections for microscopic analysis of all types of rocks and cuttings, servicing both the energy sector as well as academia and research institutions.
TPS Enterprises is one of the most respected companies of its kind in the Southwest USA, because of the craftsmanship utilized in the thin section preparation process. We specialize in catering to the specific requirements of our clients and enjoy collaborating with them to ensure a final product that suits their needs. In the pursuit of this goal, the company has been working on perfecting our thin section products and generating new techniques to accommodate problematic samples such as mudstones and evaporites. All thin sections produced in our lab undergo some degree of hand finishing while undergoing microscopic inspection. Specialized sample preparation for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Cathodoluminescence (CL), reflected light work, and fluid inclusion analysis for paleothermometry (FIT) are also routinely provided. In addition, we have developed a mechanical pre-polish for shales for ion milling work, that can greatly reduce both milling time and consumables.
The combine experience of the team is backed-up by over 50 years of involvement in many facets of the oil and gas industry. The thin section preparation processes used and developed in-house rely heavily on past knowledge in core handling and sampling. Awareness of the importance of proper orientation with respect to the original stratigraphy and/or well bore is crucial in many cases, mainly for structural and sedimentological analyses, as well as for understanding the laboratory results. Extensive experience in the washing and processing of well cuttings provides value-added to the final product. As an example, understanding and identifying the differences between what are representative fragments of the formation material of interest versus cavings and bit artifacts or lost circulation material (LCM) is crucial for a representative thin section.
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