Sidewall coring

A coring technique in which core samples are obtained from the hole wall in a zone that has already been drilled. A hollow bullet is fired into the formation wall to capture the core and then retrieved on a flexible steel cable. Core samples of this type usually range from 3/4 to 1-3/16 inches (20 to 30 millim) in diam and from 3/4 to 4 inches (20 to 100 millim) in length. This method is especially useful in soft-rock areas.

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