Just left of center and circled in orange is a transparent to translucent euhedral to sparry calcite crystal approximately 5mm long. This drill cuttings sample is from the Wolfcamp C Formation southwest of Loving, NM. The limestone in this sample gives us a clue on the possible formation of this calcite crystal. Within the off-white to medium gray limestone you can identify pieces of fossil fragments from the debris flows that intersect the basin. The sparry calcite crystal is interesting because this kind of crystal likely grew into an open space due to the euhedral shape and crystal size within this particular formation. Inferring from this, we can say that it is likely that there are decent sized pores in this area. Whether the pores are intraparticle or vuggy (who knows, maybe even cavernous given the location) we may never be able to tell, but we can justify that some small megapores are downhole. The permeability of these pores within this formation does present issues, which is why frac-ing is our production friend!
Photo Courtesy: Sage Betts