Case Study Fiber Optics Improves Subsurface Understanding for a CCS Project
Optiq Seismic solution efficiently acquired data across four wells using both multimode and single-mode fiber.
Fiber-optic solutions
The use of fiber-optic sensing and its capabilities are being maximized now more than ever within the energy industry. Traditional measurements typically rely on discrete sensors that measure at certain points, whereas distributed sensing technology uses fiber-optic strands as the sensor. This enables continuous, real-time measurements to be captured along the entire length of a fiber-optic strand.
Optiq fiber-optic solutions cover distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), distributed temperature sensing (DTS), distributed temperature gradient sensing (DTGS), and distributed strain and temperature sensing (DSTS) systems for a wide range of applications across energy industries—including oil and gas, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), geothermal energy production, and mining.
Industry-unique Optiq solutions are used for many applications in upstream oil and gas and can be easily integrated with our nonfiber-optic comprehensive measurements, products, and services for rich, evergreen insights. These microsolutions include the following:
Borehole seismic data acquisition—For reservoir delineation and field development optimization, a reservoir engineer can now integrate borehole seismic data into their evergreen reservoir model using Optiq Seismic fiber-optic borehole seismic solution across the life cycle of the field. The deployment-agnostic Optiq Seismic solution acquires zero-offset, walkaway, 3D seismic, 4D reservoir monitoring, and many more vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) with 1.5-m spatial resolution—and in minutes rather than the hours or days required using conventional methods.
Induced seismicity monitoring—Monitor regulatory compliance or track seismic events using temporarily or permanently deployed fiber optics. With a real-time, automated traffic alert system, enabled by Seismic Focal Point real-time induced seismicity monitoring service, never miss an event alert again.
Well integrity assessment—We don’t just stop at locating the leak in your completions. We have the ability to understand the cause and remediate accordingly by combining high- and low-frequency fiber-optic data with our wireline ultrasonic, spectroscopy, and caliper corrosion measurements.
Production monitoring—Understanding production and production interference is critical to maintaining an accurate evergreen reservoir model. Using either temporarily or permanently deployed fiber optics enables you to understand production in the time domain across the full reservoir. Optiq solutions can be used as robust stand-alone production monitoring solutions in combination with production logging tools for increased confidence in your reservoir performance.
Injection monitoring—Understanding injection across your reservoir is a foundational step in predicting the production for unconventional plays. Uniform injection can also be critical for the performance and economics of CCS, geothermal, and saltwater disposal projects. You can also use fiber optics to monitor out-of-zone injection (OOZI) to verify caprock integrity and identify whether new fractures are created during injection. Optiq solutions enable a common experience across all your injection monitoring projects.
Stimulation effectiveness monitoring—With Optiq StreamLINE polymer-locked fiber-optic wireline conveyance, it is now possible to measure cluster efficiency in the treatment well and strain in an observation well with a simplified operation and smaller pressure equipment footprint. This is a cost-efficient solution that does not depend on permanent fiber-optic installation in your unconventional wells.
Flowback monitoring and more—Flowback monitoring can be the first indication of reservoir performance after stimulation and provides important inputs to validate stimulation models and success. For coiled-tubing-, wireline-, and permanently deployed fiber optics, it is now possible to have the fiber in the well during regular hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing while continuing to monitor the flowback immediately after stimulation. Having flowback insights in relevant time can assist in optimizing field development.
In the midstream sector, Optiq solutions act as a remote oil and gas pipeline integrity monitoring system, providing real-time leak detection, pig tracking, and perimeter intrusion. In addition, we apply machine learning and AI to improve confidence in threat detection and decipher activities along your assets.
Pipeline integrity monitoringOptiq solutions can also be used to improve subsurface understanding for CCS projects. These solutions can asses carbon storage capacity; monitor the position of CO2 plume or seismicity for regulatory compliance; and evaluate CO2 injection profiling, well injection containment, and well integrity.
For geothermal energy production, Optiq solutions enable various applications, including
Optiq solutions can be utilized to monitor seismicity during mining operations and provide real-time alerts to ensure safety performance and regulatory compliance. Additionally, Optiq Seismic solution can be utilized to map the subsurface structure and locate veins of interest to plan mining operations.
SLB has applied a century of subsurface measurements experience to develop and deploy the industry’s only deployment-agnostic fiber-optic solutions. Optiq solutions can be seamlessly integrated with any existing fiber-optic infrastructure (such as in pipeline integrity monitoring) or by using our unique temporary or permanent fiber-optic deployments.
Permanent deployment solutions
For permanent deployment, the hybrid fiber-optic electrical cable of Optiq solutions is installed within the completion string or behind tubing. It can also be installed across the sandface for both wet and dry-tree applications.
Distributed Permanent Measurement Systems
Temporary deployment solutions
For temporary fiber-optic deployments, we have engineered and manufactured innovative fiber-optic coiled tubing, wireline, and slickline conveyances, including the following:
The award-winning ACTive Power system uses unique fiber-optic packaging to enable pumping of corrosive, abrasive, and highly viscous fluids, including cement. Delivering more than distributed measurements, it seamlessly integrates downhole sensors and provides well diagnostics and intervention capabilities in one system.
Optiq TuffLINE conveyance offers the industry’s highest pulling capacity of 18,000-lbf safe working load. It enables fiber-optic borehole seismic acquisition during any wireline evaluation descent in any environment, including deep water.
Optiq StreamLINE conveyance offers the industry’s only fiber-optic wireline deployment in treatment wells during stimulation services. Its patented polymer-locked packaging eliminates the need for grease injection.
Optiq SlickLINE conveyance provides smaller, lighter, acid-tolerant slickline deployment.
The large volume of data produced with fiber optics can be challenging to manage and often results in long processing times with answer products that require fiber-optic expertise to interpret before you can make decisions. Now, you can overcome these challenges using Optiq solutions’ unified end-to-end workflows—from planning, execution, processing, and data integration—to deliver in-time multidomain insights for better decision making:
This further enriches the model while giving you an evergreen ecosystem where multidisciplinary knowledge is derived from measurements captured at the speed of light.
Optiq solutions are your modern-day answer to measurements, providing you modular, customized microsolutions fit to your objectives.
