Toward the Next Fiber Optic Revolution and Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry.
Authors: Boering Micha , Braal Richard , Cheng Lun K. 
Published: May 2013

Fiber optic data transmission has caused revolutionary developments in the current information society. It was also an eye opener for the Oil & Gas industry when fiber optic-based Distributed Temperature Sensing was introduced in the nineties. Temperature profiles over the entire length of the wellbore could suddenly be monitored in real-time to deliver data that is used for troubleshooting and production optimization. Ongoing research in fiber optic sensing technology for applications with extreme operational conditions (such as aerospace or nuclear fusion) will further boost the development of fiber optic multi-parameter sensing systems. Innovations like these will particularly benefit the Oil & Gas industry in situations where conventional electronic sensors are not technically feasible or cost efficient.

In multi-parameter sensing systems of the future, different types of fiber optic sensors (e.g. flow, pressure, acoustic, chemical, vibration, gravity) can be manufactured and read out via one single optical fiber. Data from the different types of sensors will be merged and processed via special data-mining algorithms to generate unambiguous information for faster and better decision making. Judging on the speed of developments witnessed today, we believe there will be a second fiber optic sensing revolution in the Oil & Gas industry in the near future. In this paper, we will give some in-house examples of fiber optic innovations from both in and outside the Oil & Gas industry to demonstrate the versatility and potential of fiber optic technology.

Introduction

Increasing energy demand combined with scarcity means that oil must be produced from new and often more complex reservoirs. These reservoirs may consist of many sections separated by geological faults or the oil may be very viscous, making production more difficult or economically impossible with current technology. This implies that well and production strategies are becoming increasingly complex and require accurate and reliable input for decision making.

Maturing assets develop complex ‘time critical’ process dynamics such as production decline, liquid loading and salt precipitation creating the need for real-time monitoring and control. This measurement and control technology must give a more accurate understanding of the key processes involved. It should also improve asset diagnostics to lead to improved production control and recovery strategies without compromising reliability or safety. Furthermore the industry has to deal with increasingly complex environmental and safety regulations and an increasing shortage of expert personnel.

We believe that innovations in fiber optic sensing technology have the potential to help better understand the key processes behind decision-making in the oil and gas industry. This insight is based on many projects both inside and outside the oil and gas industry related to monitoring, process modeling and data processing. These new insights are essential to control and optimize the ‘new’ Oil & Gas industry when one considers the challenges that lie ahead. Before we focus on these upcoming fiber optic technologies for the oil and gas industry, we would like to illustrate the versatility and potential of fiber optic technology based on applications from other industries and their applicability to the oil and gas industry. Fiber optic technology is a proven technology but needs to be adapted and modified to the restricting and demanding applications of the oil and gas industry. These applications also give rise to innovations as will be discussed later.