Kansas Geologic Sample Repository

In cooperation with oil and gas operators the Kansas Geologic Sample Repository has preserved more than 147,000 sets of geologic samples from oil, gas, and research wells. Repository holdings can be searched from the Kansas Rotary-Cutting Samples search tool.

Geologic samples may be examined at the Kansas Geologic Sample Repository, checked out, or shipped directly to you. Please refer to the Service and Fee Schedule for details. To request samples, complete a Sample Request and Check-out Form (pdf) and submit it to the KGSR by either mail, fax, or email. Microscopes and a black light are available for use at the KGSR.

Sample Preservation Activity:

• Distribution of well samples preserved
• Samples processed per month

Updated Aug. 14, 2018

• Microsoft Word version (docx)
• Acrobat PDF version (pdf)

Updated January 22, 2021

• Microsoft Word version (docx)
• Acrobat PDF version (pdf)

1. The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) allows provisional access to check out and examine formation samples or well cuttings providing:
   
   1. the account of the individual, operator or company requesting to check out and examine samples is up-to-date and in good standing with the KGS,
   2. the individual, operator, or company agrees to accept responsibility for the protection, safekeeping, care, return, and payment of fees for the well samples checked out, and
   3. a request to check out samples is made by completing a Sample Request and Check-out Form (pdf) and submitting the completed form to the Kansas Geologic Sample Repository (KGSR) by mail, fax, email, or in person.
2. Payment of service fees for new or out-of-date accounts is due prior to either receipt or shipment of samples.
3. KGS reserves the right to allow or prohibit samples to be checked out for off-site examination.
4. The maximum number of well sample boxes an individual, operator, or company may check out from the KGSR is 10 boxes.
5. Sample requests or cancellations received at the KGSR after noon are considered next workday's business.
6. Samples checked out from the KGSR and not picked up after five days are returned to the sample library and the appropriate service fees are charged.
7. Samples not returned to the KGSR by the end of the loan period are overdue:
   
   1. A sample check out request must be made prior to the end of the sample examination loan period to prevent an overdue fee, and
   2. Until the samples are checked in at the KGSR, overdue fees accrue daily and are invoiced monthly.
8. Special provisions, acceptable to the KGS, must be made in advance of checkout, if either:
   
   1. A longer loan period is required for sample examination, or
   2. more than 10 sample boxes are requested.
9. An individual, operator, or company shall either:
   
   1. be charged a fee, as stipulated in the Service Fee schedule, for each lost sample box, or
   2. provide replacement well samples, acceptable to the KGS, for all lost or missing well samples associated with the box, and
   3. be charged a fee, as stipulated in the Service Fee schedule, for damaged samples in a box, or
   4. provide replacement well samples, acceptable to the KGS, for all damaged well samples in a box.
10. "Damaged" means more than 25% of the samples in the box are rendered unusable for examination, as determined by the KGS.

Pyrolysis Testing of Samples — Pyrolysis testing is destructive and irreversible as sufficient heat is applied to the samples causing chemical and physical decomposition. The KGS allows pyrolysis examination of formation samples or cuttings providing:

1. The account of the operator or company requesting the examination is up-to-date and in good standing with the KGS.
2. There is a sufficient number of wells with formation samples or cuttings in the same quarter section (160 acre tract) to maintain the scientific and research value of the area's well samples.
3. The pre-test volume of sample cuttings per envelope is at least 28 grams (one ounce).
4. A maximum limit of six grams (0.212 ounce) per sample envelope may be consumed for pyrolysis or destructive testing, including any follow-up vitrinite reflectance analyses.
5. All pyrolysis data, analyses, reports, and information associated with the samples and testing are provided to the KGS at the same time the operator or company receives the test data.
6. After testing is complete and prior to receipt of the test results, the operator or company may request in writing that all test data, analyses, reports and associated information is held confidential by the KGS for a maximum period of one year from the request date.
7. The KGS reserves the right to allow or prohibit pyrolysis examination of formation samples or cuttings.

Return and Exchange Policy — The Return and Exchange Policy shall be posted, highly visible and inform the customer about the policy.

1. Items that are not returnable:
   
   1. Labor, delivery, shipping, postage or services
   2. Consumable items and special orders
   3. Open-file reports
   4. Items that are damaged, incomplete, stained, or rendered unsalable
   5. Marked or otherwise personalized items
   6. Opened computer software, except the item may be exchanged for the identical item
2. Unless designated not returnable, an item may be exchanged or returned for a refund within 14 days from the original purchase date.
3. To facilitate the return or exchange, the original receipt is required.
4. Refunds are issued by the University of Kansas and may take up to 90 days to process. The following information is required to submit a refund request:
   
   1. Contact information including name, address, city, state, and zip code
   2. Social Security or tax identification number
   3. Original receipt

Minimum Processing Fee, Late Fees, and Penalties:

1. A minimum processing fee shall be applied to non-prepared well samples submitted to the KGS for preservation.
2. Payments must be received by the appropriate due date to avoid suspension of services and a 1.5 percent default fee assessed monthly on the unpaid amount.
3. The following applies to delinquent accounts:
   
   1. "Due date" means more than 90 days after invoice of services or sales.
   2. Services mean retail sales, sample checkout, research documents, maps, logs, or equipment, and sample preservation.
   3. Only prepared sample sets will be accepted for preservation.
   4. A delinquent account having an unpaid amount greater than $25 and past the due date may be transferred to the University of Kansas for collection no sooner than 6 months and no later than 12 months after the due date.

Fee Schedule Exceptions — Except for postage, freight, or lost or damaged samples, service fees are waived for

1. graduate and undergraduate students
   
   1. enrolled in an accredited college or university
   2. performing required course assignments or post-graduate research
   3. providing a valid student identification
   4. providing contact information for either the course instructor or post-graduate research advisor
2. research that is either academically published or leading to academic publication
3. at the discretion of the manager of the Kansas Geologic Sample Repository when appropriate

The Kansas Geologic Sample Repository provides information and services to the public on energy, water, geology, and geophysics and educational programs of the Kansas Geological Survey. The office is open to the public.

Public Information Circulars are free of charge. Published reports and maps may be purchased. Out-of-print reports and maps may be researched at the facility and are not for circulation.

Staff is available to answer questions and make referrals, locate publications and maps, conduct literature searches, assist the public researching information resources, and assist the use of web resources for energy research, oil and gas production, groundwater levels, and GeoKansas.