Case Studies
FibreDip™ system for enhanced recovery field operations
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Sensornet’s unique FibreDip™ system provides a flexible and extremely effective well monitoring solution in enhanced recovery field operations
To help a major operator in the Middle East to detect early steam breakthrough and determine the boundaries of the steam front the FibreDip™ system, a retro-fittable installation technique was used. Sensornet’s FibreDip™ sensing cable was installed in vertical observation wells spread throughout the steam flooded field and was used to provide accurate distributed temperature information of the borehole and surrounding formation. The information obtained allowed the reservoir engineers and operators to anticipate which horizons were being swept by steam and which were not.
Client Requirements
Steam generated at surface was injected into the reservoir through distributed horizontal injection wells to reduce viscosity and generate an artificial drive that sweeps oil towards producing wells. In order to better manage heat distribution in heavy oil reservoirs, it is required that vertical and area distribution of temperature fronts are known.
A number of observation wells are used to monitor the steam front ahead of production. To improve heat management and ultimately improve recovery and profitability high performance measurements are required to identify the sands that produce steam and determine the breakthrough intervals. Rapid and repeated recording of full wellbore profiles are only possible with high performance optical fibre Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) systems.
The Monitoring Gap
Conventional temperature wireline logging technology involves well intervention, has a high operation cost, disturbs the thermal equilibrium of the borehole and the information often lacks the spatial and temperature resolution expected. Sensornet’s DTS technology on the other hand is an excellent integrated reservoir management technology that allows simultaneous temperature acquisitions at different depths, and does not need to be relocated to collect the temperature information. The FibreDip™ installation technique allows continuous tracking of thermal features without well interventions. It was shown that in addition to successfully detect the steam fronts also provided additional information in identifying the aquifer.
The Sensornet Solution
The FibreDip™ system is a retrievable installation technique that allows re-deployment of the same sensing cable into new observation wells after the initial areas no longer warrant the level of sophistication. The FibreDip™ sensing cable is reeled into the well by itself using a construction with a weighted sinker bar in conjunction with a self supported motorised spooler unit and a sheave wheel suspended on shear legs. Sensornet offers a range of FibreDip™ cable constructions to accommodate different wellbore environments and expected temperature ranges. The sensing cable can be either terminated close to the wellhead for periodic logging or connected to a surface cable and DTS for continuous monitoring.
Sensornet’s C-Well visualisation tool showing thermal intensity graph of FibreDip™ sensing cable deployed using Sensornet’s FibreDip™ installation technique
C-Well distributed temperature visualisation tool clearly displaying steam fronts and aquifer region in thermal well
Substantial Benefits
The self supporting FibreDip™ system has a number of key advantages over conventional logging equipment. The installation can be retrieved months or years later and installed somewhere else. Repeated well temperature surveys can be performed at the convenience of the operator without any well intervention.Compared to alternative measurement technology the operator saved in excess of $100,000 over a period of six months just on a single observation well.
Measurable Performance
The industry leading Sentinel DTS acquisition unit coupled with the high performance FibreDip™ distributed sensing cable provided measurements every 1 m at a temperature resolution of less than 0.01oC. This allowed accurate analysis of the entire wellbore to provide the reservoir engineers and operators the information they required to accurately anticipate which horizons were being swept by steam.
More Info
Please click the link to see more information regarding Sensornet's FibreDip™ system, or contact your local Sensornet sales representative today.
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