Real-Time Subsea Fiber-Optic Monitoring
Authors: Forster Larry , Dria Dennis E 
Published: May 2013

Commercially available fiber-optic sensors provide key information for well, reservoir and infrastructure surveillance. These fiber optic systems are now considered robust and see routine application in onshore and platform wells. Engineering, economic and project management challenges, however, delay the extension of these monitoring systems into the subsea environment.

We illustrate the value of fiber optic monitoring, describe where fiber optic technology has significant potential in subsea development projects and identify the significant technology gaps which challenge subsea implementation of existing in-well fiber-optic sensing systems. We then define an approach to systematically address these gaps within the time frames of many current subsea projects, while preserving the necessary integrity of the subsea system and associated project delivery.

The approach borrows from the Agile project management method and focuses on staged delivery of the fiber optic technology, maturing the technology by deploying select portions and then advancing in subsequent stages to the deployment of more-complex or more slowly evolving technologies, rather than attempting to fully mature the technology off-line prior to any deployment. It operates according to the following principles:–Deploy the more easily or readily adaptable portions of the technology first.–Ensure that each incremental deployment economically provides significant benefits, meeting business and technical surveillance targets.–Ensure that each deployment delivers technology maturation learnings that can be used to evaluate newly developed technology, with direct actionable feedback into further development plans.–Ensure that project plans contain sufficient adaptability and capacity for incorporating late-breaking or unforeseen technology advances, as well as contain contingencies to back off from portions of the technology deployment should best judgment dictate.

In addition to accelerating technology advance, this approach assures further progress and technology acceptance along the way. We take inspiration from an historic application of such a method: NASA's journey to safely land men on the moon. In the staged development-deployment of the Gemini and Apollo programs, NASA consistently delivered tangible results with each launch, thus capturing and maintaining the support of the public, their primary stakeholders, throughout the program, as well as quickly making significant technical strides which ensured the accomplishment of their goal.

Introduction

Subsea wells represent expensive, high profile and high risk investments. It's no surprise that any suggestion to include new technology, such as fiber optic monitoring, in a subsea well is quite frequently rejected almost immediately despite value recognized by subsurface engineering and geoscience experts. Like all proponents of new technology, we share in the frustration that many people experience when greeted with this response. We acknwledge and appreciatethat the rationale for such strong resistance stems from the primary commitment of project managers, technical authorities, and subject matter experts to deliver the subsea project without delay, cost overrun or addition of unmanaged or unmanageable risk. We also observe that while the in-well technology advocates might seem to be at odds with installation project management, both groups actually have the same goal: to see the installation succeed in every respect while deliverying a well with high value.