SPE 71529

The Optic Oil Field: Deployment and Application of Permanent In-well Fiber Optic
Sensing Systems for Production and Reservoir Monitoring
Tor K. Kragas, SPE, CiDRA Corporation; Brock A. Williams, SPE, BP Corporation; and Gregory A. Myers, SPE, Shell
Exploration and Production Company
Copyright 2001, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2001 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, 30 September3 October 2001.
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Abstract
Development and exploitation of oil and gas resources in
increasingly difficult operating environments such as
deepwater raise many technical challenges. Among these is
the ability to provide assurance on the completions and
production from high-cost and complex wells. Real-time,
permanent wellbore and reservoir monitoring is a critical
technology for providing assurance and maximizing
profitability of these fields.
Recent developments in fiber optic sensing technology
have resulted in reliable alternatives to conventional electronic
systems for permanent, downhole production and reservoir
monitoring. In-well fiber optic sensors are now being
developed and deployed in the field for measuring
temperature, pressure, flow rate, fluid phase fraction, and
seismic response. Bragg grating-based fiber optic systems
combine a high level of reliability, accuracy, resolution and
stability with the ability to multiplex sensors on a single fiber,
enabling complex and multilateral wells to be fully
instrumented with a single wellhead penetration. These
systems are being installed worldwide in a variety of operating
environments for a variety of applications.
This paper presents several recent deployments of in-well
fiber optic monitoring systems, including descriptions of the
downhole sensor assemblies, installations, and measured data.
Installations of fiber optic pressure and temperature systems in
a land well and in the Gulf of Mexico and an all-fiber flow and
liquid fraction system in deepwater Gulf of Mexico are
discussed. A general description of fiber optic sensing and
Bragg grating-based sensing systems is also presented.

Introduction
The past several years have seen a great increase in the
development, deployment and application of permanent inwell monitoring systems. Drivers behind this increase include
new field developments in much more challenging, costly
operating environments; the requirement to provide assurance
on the production from these new fields; and the desire to
optimize management of production and reservoir recovery.
Cost. Many large, new fields coming on line today and in
the near future are being developed with relatively few highcost, high-rate, complex wells. Intervention costs in these
wells will be high or even prohibitive. This puts a premium on
the value of real-time downhole data during production and on
the use of this data to foresee and prevent well problems.
Assurance. The large, up-front capital investment for
many new field developments, such as deepwater, puts a
tremendous importance on the assurance of producing the
anticipated volumes of oil and gas in the anticipated
timeframe, in order to make the required return. Downhole
monitoring systems provide data to continuously assess the
health of the well, optimize well operations, and provide
assurance on the flow of oil and gas.
Optimized Production and Reservoir Management. Realtime downhole data offer many opportunities to greatly
improve production management and reservoir recovery.
These include actively managing drawdown to increase
production performance; production and injection profiling in
horizontal and multi-zone wells to identify and control fluid
flow to and from different parts of the well; providing
sufficient information to allow for the early determination and
confirmation of reserves; allowing for active reservoir
management early in the field life; optimizing drainage; and
increasing overall field recovery.
In most, if not all cases, the value derived from real-time,
downhole monitoring systems greatly exceeds the cost and can
be recovered early in the life of the well, IF these systems are
reliable and perform as specified over the life of the well and
IF the data are managed properly and used to their fullest
potential. Fiber optic-based sensing systems being deployed
today offer the promise of achieving the level of performance
required to achieve this value.

TOR K. KRAGAS, BROCK A. WILLIAMS, GREGORY A. MYERS

In-Well Fiber Optic Sensing

Advances in optical sensing technology in the
telecommunications and other industries have enabled the
development of permanent, in-well fiber optic sensing systems
that are attractive alternatives to conventional electronic
systems for downhole monitoring.1,2 This is especially true in
high temperature operating environments where electronic
systems have historically had their highest failure rates.3 Inwell fiber optic sensors are either currently available or under
active development for measuring pressure, temperature, flow
rate, phase fraction, strain, acoustics, and sand production.
Potential future sensor developments include measurement of
density, fluid chemistry, and even electro-magnetics.
Fiber optic sensing systems can be implemented in singlepoint, multi-point, and continuous sensing configurations, as
shown in Fig. 1. In a continuous configuration the entire
optical fiber is used as a sensor. The result is a log of the
measured quantity along the length of the wellbore. To date,
continuous configurations in wells have only been used for
distributed temperature sensing (DTS)4, although distributed
strain measurements are also possible. The other two sensing
configurations, single-point and multi-point, involve
measurements at discrete points along the length of the optic
fiber in the wellbore. They offer a much broader range of
measured parameters than continuous configurations, as well
as higher accuracy and spatial resolution. The remainder of
this paper will focus on discrete point fiber optic sensing
configurations with an emphasis on systems that use Bragg
grating technology.
Bragg Grating Sensors
Bragg gratings are intrinsic sensor elements that can be written
into the core of an optical fiber by an ultraviolet photoinsciption process.5 The grating is a periodic modulation of the
retractive index of a small portion of the core of the fiber, as
shown in Fig 2. When broad-band light is directed down the
fiber, the grating produces a narrow-band reflection whose
wavelength is proportional to the modulation of the refractive
index. The remainder of the light passes through the grating
unaltered and may be used to interrogate other sensors written
at different wavelengths. This characteristic makes Bragg
gratings an important component for the telecommunications
industry, because it serves as the basis for wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM), the ability to carry multiple channels of
data down a single fiber simulataneously. For the purposes of
permanent monitoring, WDM enables multiple optical sensors
to be deployed downhole on a single fiber.
When a Bragg grating is subjected to strain, for instance
through a change in temperature, the reflected wavelength
shifts in a manner directly proportional to the strain in the
grating. Thus, the grating can be used as a form of optical
strain gauge. Through appropriate packaging and calibration,
Bragg gratings can be used to measure a wide range of
phyiscal parameters in the wellbore.
Bragg grating-based sensors have many advantages for inwell monitoring applications. The gratings can be put through
an annealing process to essentially remove drift in the

SPE 71529

reflected wavelength, resulting in very stable sensors, even at

high temperatures over long periods. Other advantages
include:
intrinsic sensor element;
electrically passive;
high temperature operation;
multi-point sensing capabilities;
low profile;
multi-parameter sensing; and
component common to telecommunications.
Bragg grating sensors have been developed to measure a wide
variety of parameters, including temperature, pressure,
vibration, acoustics, and displacement.
Components of Fiber Optic Monitoring Systems
In-well fiber optic sensing systems consist of four sub-systems
as illustrated in Fig. 3: instrumentation unit; wellhead outlet
and surface cable; in-well cable and connectors; and sensor
assembly.
Instrumentation. The instrumentation unit consists of a
fiber optic light source, opto-electronic interrogation unit,
signal demodulation unit, microprocessor, monitor, keyboard,
associated power supplies, disk drives, and data
communication interfaces. It also contains the software
required to control the data acquisition, conversion, storage
and interfacing. In standard implementations, the
instrumentation is designed to reside in a control room
environment and interface with an external data management
system using Modbus protocol or a serial ASCII data stream.
However, it can be modified for special applications, such as
stand-alone installations in the desert, jungle, or on unmanned
platforms and for subsea installations where part or all of the
instrumentation is contained in the subsea control module.
Wellhead Outlet and Surface Cabling. The wellhead
outlet provides for feed-through and exiting of the fiber optic
cable from the well in a safe and reliable manner and is similar
to that for an electrical system. The standard wellhead outlet
contains a minimum of two sealing barriers to every potential
leak path and is rated to a working pressure of 15,000 psi. It
has been DNV certified, both for design and manufacture. The
connection from the wellhead outlet to the instrumentation
unit is made with the optical surface cabling. On multi-well
installations, a multi-core surface cable can be run from the
instrumentation unit to a junction box in the well bay and
separate surface cables run from the junction box to each well.
Cable and Connectors. The in-well fiber optic cable and
connector system provides for light transmission to and from
the downhole sensors. It is specifically designed for
mechanical and environmental robustness, as well as
functional redundancy, and incorporates multiple protective
barriers between wellbore fluids and the optical fiber. Every
attempt has been made to give the cable a look and feel
similar to its electrical counterpart. Mechanical strength and
protection of the cable is provided by a -inch metal capillary
tube, encapsulated in a polymeric buffer. The tubing encases a
specially coated, small-diameter stainless steel fiber in metal

SPE 71529

THE OPTIC OIL FIELD: DEPLOYMENT AND APPLICATION OF PERMANENT IN-WELL FIBER OPTIC SENSING SYSTEMS

tube (FIMT) surrounded by a buffering material. The optical

fibers are packaged in the FIMT with a hydrogen gettering
grease, which provides high striction forces for holding the
fiber in place. Together with the cable, high-reliability optical
connectors and cable fusion splicing techniques have also
been developed for long-term survival in harsh downhole
environments.
Sensor Assembly. The sensor assembly consists of the
actual fiber optic sensors and transducers, as well as the
mandrel and other equipment required to integrate the
assembly into the production tubing string. The specific
sensors are described in more detail in the following case
studies.
Pioneer Fiber Optic Deployments
The first in-well fiber optic pressure and temperature system
was installed for Shell in the Sleen field in the Netherlands in
1993. It did not involve Bragg grating-based sensors, but
consisted of a silicon micro-machined resonator in
combination with an optical fiber. The system was designed
and manufactured by Optoplan A.S. and called the FOWM
system.
Between 1993 and 1999 a total of 10 FOWM systems were
installed, mostly in the North Sea, as summarized in Table 1.
These included five subsea installations, one of which placed
the instrumentation unit in a subsea control module pod. The
FOWM systems demonstrated that fiber optic sensors can be
deployed in harsh wellbore environments and gave the
industry and manufacturers valuable installation and
operational experience. They also demonstrated that fiber
optic cable and connectors can survive for extended periods in
the wellbore.
In the years since the first FOWM deployments, advances
have been made in several system components to improve
reliability. The design of the in-well fiber optic cable has been
changed to increase protection from hydrogen ingression,
which results in darkening of the fiber and signal attenuation.
Improvements have also been made to the wellhead outlet.
The most important advancement has been the development of
Bragg grating-based sensors. Since Bragg grating sensors are
intrinsic to the fiber, they are not exposed to the same failure
mechanisms as the FOWM gauges, and are more resistant to
shock and vibration.
Bragg grating-based sensors represent the next generation
of single- and multi-point in-well fiber optic monitoring
systems with the promise of high reliability and longevity. The
following three case studies discuss some of the first
deployments of this new permanent downhole monitoring
technology.
Kern River Pressure/Temperature System Field Trial
The worlds first permanent, in-well, fiber optic monitoring
system was deployed in March, 1999, in Kern River field, near
Bakersfield, California. The system consisted of a Bragg
grating-based pressure and temperature gauge, deployed to a
depth of 2,200 ft in a beam-pumped well. A Pruett Industries,
Inc. downhole gauge was also installed in the well as a

reference. Although the field is under steam flood, the well

has not seen steam breakthrough. The gauge is still operational
to its original accuracy and resolution after over 10,000 cycles
of the beam pump, and continues to show good comparison
with the reference gauge. Fig. 4 shows a sampling of the data
from the optical gauge after nearly two years of operation,
illustrating the cycling of the beam pump and the data
comparison.
Gulf of Mexico Pressure/Temperature System
The first in-well, fiber optic permanent monitoring system in
the Gulf of Mexico was successfully installed for BP by
CiDRA Corporation and Wood Group Production
Technology, Ltd. in April, 2000. The CiDRA Bragg gratingbased, single-point pressure and temperature transducer was
installed at a measured depth of over 15,000 feet in a 77
deviated section of the well, just above the production packer.
No additional rig time was required for installation of the fiber
optic gauge over that for a conventional gauge. The
performance of the gauge to-date has exceeded expectations.
Pressure/Temperature System Description. The singlepoint fiber optic pressure gauge provides real-time
measurements of wellbore temperature and pressure.6,7 It is
100% optical, contains no downhole electronics, is
temperature compensated, and is designed to have a long life
at high temperatures. It utilizes two Bragg gratings, one
primarily affected by system temperature and one affected by
system temperature and pressure, packaged into a single allglass sensing element. The transducer housing contains an oilfilled dual buffer tube assembly to prevent direct contact
between the wellbore fluids and the sensing element and to
serve as shock protection for the element. Maximum
continuous operating conditions of the transducer are 150C
and 15,000 psia.
Installation. Prior to shipment offshore, the transducer was
welded onto the fiber optic in-well cable and secured to the
cable spool. This avoided the need for any fusion splicing or
welding on the platform. The cable spool and transducer were
shipped along with the gauge mandrel, wellhead outlet,
surface cable, instrumentation unit, fiber optic support cabin,
optical field deployment kit, and backup gauge to the platform
well in advance of the completion. All surface equipment,
including the instrumentation and surface cable, was installed
and checked out prior to the completion to enable immediate
data collection when the tubing was landed.
Installation of the fiber optic pressure and temperature
system is very similar to installation of a conventional
downhole electronic gauge system. Figs. 5 through 7 show
pictures from the installation. The pressure gauge was fed
from the spooling unit, through the cable sheaves, and bolted
into the gauge mandrel, which was installed in the production
tubing string (Fig. 5). The mandrel is specially designed to
protect the transducer during the trip down the hole.

TOR K. KRAGAS, BROCK A. WILLIAMS, GREGORY A. MYERS

In addition to the fiber optic cable, a methanol injection

line and a subsurface safety valve line were installed in the
well. During the run-in-hole, these three lines were carefully
fed through the automatic slips. At each tubing joint, standard
LaSalle clamps were used to secure all three lines to the tubing
string.
To penetrate the tubing hanger, the outer buffering
material was stripped from the fiber optic cable and the -inch
tubing passed through the hanger and spooled in the hanger
bowl (Fig. 6). Swagelok fittings were installed above and
below the hanger to provide a double seal. The fiber optic
cable exited the well through the DNV-certified wellhead
outlet, which provides two additional barriers to pressure
communication with the outside environment.
Once outside the well, a 48-core fiber optic cable was run
from a junction box to the surface instrumentation unit,
providing flexibility for installation of additional optical
sensing systems in the future. The optical fiber is terminated at
the instrumentation unit in the control room (Fig. 7).
During the run-in-hole, optical checks of the gauge were
performed approximately every 1000 ft by connecting to the
surface instrument. These checks were carried out during other
well completion activities and resulted in no additional rig
time during the installation. This also provided wellbore
temperature and pressure data during the run-in.
Data. The surface instrument in this installation acquires a
pressure and temperature reading every 2.7 seconds. A serial
ASCII data stream is sent to a RTU system, which is linked to
the platform data historian. A subset of the data is pulled into
the data historian system for permanent archiving with other
platform data. In addition, all of the data is stored locally on
the instrumentation unit, resulting in approximately one
megabyte of uncompressed data per day. Periodically the data
is downloaded from the unit. The platform data system allows
data access to personnel both on the platform and on shore.
A sampling of the pressure and temperature data from the
first nine months of operation of the gauge is shown in Fig. 8.
Noted on the plot are a pressure transient test and several well
shut-ins. Having a real-time pressure and temperature gauge
installed in the well means that each of these shut-ins, planned
or unplanned, is an opportunity to perform a buildup analysis
and to gain valuable information on the health and
performance of the well and reservoir.
Approximately one month into the life of the well, a
pressure transient test was conducted to determine well and
reservoir parameters. An electronic gauge was also installed at
the surface for the test. There was an attempt to deploy two
memory gauges via wireline for the test as a check on the
optical gauge, but this failed due to the inability to run the
gauges beyond the 77 deviation.
Fig. 9 presents pressure data from the downhole optical
gauge and the surface gauge during the pressure transient test.
Fig. 10 show the optical gauge data on an expanded scale.
While there was no absolute check of the downhole shut-in
pressure data from the optical gauge, it was consistent with the

SPE 71529

pressure calculated from the fluid gradient using the produced

gas composition.
Because of fluid compressibility effects, the electronic
surface gauge data was useless for pressure transient analysis
purposes. In fact, careful examination of the surface data
reveals a slight decrease in pressure during the buildup portion
of the test. On the other hand, pressure transient analysis of the
data from the downhole optical gauge allowed interpretation
of both wellbore and reservoir parameters, including skin,
permeability, reservoir pressure, and drainage area. Results
from this analysis were used in decision-making on future
management of the well.
The fiber optic gauge in this Gulf of Mexico well
continues to perform within specifications, with no
deterioration in data quality. The data is currently being used
to manage drawdown as the well is put on compression. A
second in-well fiber optic pressure and temperature system
will be installed in another well on the same platform in mid2001.
Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Fiber Optic Flowmeter
In October, 2000, the first-ever fiber optic flowmeter was
successfully installed for Shell by CiDRA Corporation and
Nova Technology Corporation in a deepwater Gulf of Mexico
well.8 The CiDRA two-phase flowmeter was deployed from a
tension leg platform in 3,000 ft of water to a measured depth
of over 21,000 ft. It delivers real-time measurements of
downhole flow rate, water fraction, pressure and temperature
to the surface instrumentation unit located in the platform
control room. Installation of the flowmeter was performed as
planned with no additional rig time required. In fact, the entire
well completion operation was finished ahead of the budgeted
schedule. Early performance data indicates that the meter
provides flow rate and phase fraction data to within 5%
absolute accuracy, as specified.
Flowmeter Description. The flowmeter for this installation
was designed to be compatible with 3-inch nominal diameter
production tubing with a 3-inch internal bore. It consists of
two subassemblies, a pressure assembly and a flow assembly,
as shown in Fig. 11. The pressure assembly is about 5 ft in
length and contains a 15,000 psi pressure and temperature
transducer. The flow assembly is about 12 ft in length and
contains the velocity and phase fraction sensors. Maximum
overall diameter of the tool is 5.60 inches and the overall
length is about 20 ft. Maximum operating conditions of the
meter are 125C and 15,000 psia.
The two-phase fiber optic flowmeter system provides
permanent, downhole monitoring of wellbore pressure,
temperature, volumetric flow rate, and water or gas fraction. It
contains no downhole electronics, is completely non-intrusive
(full-bore), contains no moving parts, and thus has the
potential for high reliability. The system is deployed with the
production tubing string during well completion in a manner
similar to conventional, electronic downhole monitoring
systems. It is capable of measuring volumetric flow rate and

SPE 71529

THE OPTIC OIL FIELD: DEPLOYMENT AND APPLICATION OF PERMANENT IN-WELL FIBER OPTIC SENSING SYSTEMS

water fraction over the full range of water cuts to within 5%

absolute accuracy for most oil-water applications.
The meter uses fundamentally new multiphase flow
measurement methodologies which take advantage of the high
bandwidth capabilities of optic fiber and the ability to
multiplex many sensors on a single fiber. All sensors in the
flowmeter are based on fiber Bragg grating technology, and
are therefore very stable and capable of high reliability. Phase
fraction is determined from a acoustic-based sound speed
measurement that utilizes the contrast between the speed of
sound of the two phases, e.g., oil and water. Volumetric flow
rate is determined from a series of full-bore, cross-correlation
based sensors that perform equally well in single and
multiphase flow regimes.9
The flowmeter has been tested at several flow loop
facilities worldwide. Testing included a wide range of oil and
water types; flow rates; oil, water and gas fractions; and meter
orientations. The flow loop evaluations demonstrated the
ability of the meter to determine volumetric flow rate and
water fraction to within +/-5% absolute accuracy over the full
range of water cuts at bulk fluid velocities over 3 ft/s.10
Installation. As in any well completion operation, successful
deployment of the flowmeter system depends not only on the
integrity of the technology, but also on careful and efficient
execution of the installation. Prior to deployment, regular
weekly teleconferences were held with representatives of the
flowmeter vendor, the installer, and the operating company, to
coordinate planning and logistics. All surface equipment,
including the instrumentation unit, the surface fiber optic cable
and wellhead outlet, were shipped, installed and tested well in
advance of the completion. This enabled system to be hooked
up and data to be logged shortly after the flowmeter reached
total depth. The flowmeter assembly, backup gauge mandrel,
spool containing 29,000 ft of fiber optic cable, optical support
cabin, and optical field deployment kit were shipped offshore
to the platform a few days before the installation. They were
set up, checked out, and ready to go in the hole the next day.
Installation of the flowmeter was similar to installation of
any other production tubing-conveyed system. Figs. 12
through 14 show pictures from the installation. Optical
checks of the flowmeter and pressure and temperature
measurements were performed approximately every thousand
feet of completion. Since these checks were conducted while
the rig crew was picking up more tubing, they did not
contribute to any downtime. The flowmeter was landed at a
measured depth of 21,138 feet three days after the start of the
completion. The well completion was finished approximately
three days ahead of the budgeted schedule and no lost rig time
was attributed to installation of the flowmeter.
Data. Early-time performance of the fiber optic flowmeter
has exceeded expectations and demonstrates the value of realtime downhole production data. Along with providing the
production engineer with downhole pressure data to control
drawdown while the well was being ramped up, data from the

flowmeter provided other valuable information during well

startup.
Figs. 15 through 18 illustrate some of the valuable
information that was obtained from the early-time flowmeter
data. Fig. 15 shows the pressure and temperature data taken
during the flowmeter run-in, providing a temperature and
pressure profile of the well. Fig. 16 plots downhole flowing
pressure versus downhole flow rate for three different periods,
providing a direct measure of the well productivity index, as
opposed to relying on predictions from a reservoir simulator.
Fig. 17 shows the downhole pressure and flow rate during a
well test, along with the average flow rate determined by the
test separator. Note the variability in the actual downhole flow
rate and pressure during the test. Downhole flow rate
measurements offers the opportunity to test the well at any
time without having to use a test separator. Finally, Fig. 18
plots the downhole flow rate and pressure versus time during
well clean-up. The periodic, gradual increase in downhole
flowing pressure and decrease in flow rate corresponds to the
choke becoming clogged with solids, followed by a "rocking"
of the choke to dislodge the accumulated solids. In addition to
these applications, as was discussed previously in the fiber
optic pressure/temperature gauge case study, having a realtime downhole gauge provides pressure buildup data during
each well shut-in, planned or unplanned.
Although the well was shut-in shortly after it was brought
on line, the flowmeter has continued to provide downhole
pressure and temperature data since installation. A fiber optic
pressure and temperature system will be installed on the same
platform in mid-2001, with the possibility of a second fiber
optic flowmeter installation in late-2001.
Conclusions
Real-time downhole production data has been a dream of
production and reservoir engineers for years. In many of
todays new field developments this data has become a
necessity. Permanent in-well fiber optic monitoring systems
are increasingly being turned to as a reliable alternative to
conventional downhole systems. Significant advantages of
optical sensiing systems include no downhole electronics and
high temperature operation. Bragg grating-based fiber optic
systems offer additional advantages of high stability, high
flexibilty, multi-parameter and multi-point sensing, and being
intrinsic to the fiber. The systems described in this paper have
accumulated over four years of in-well operating experience
without a failure. In addition to pressure, temperature, flow
rate, and phase fraction, Bragg grating-based sensors are being
developed to measure acoustics, strain, and displacement. As
these systems continue to develop a track record of reliabity,
they will provide a wealth of data to improve the management
of oil and gas reservoirs.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge BP, Shell Offshore, Inc.,
and CiDRA Corporation for permission to publish this work.
The authors would also like to acknowledge the significant
efforts of coworkers in BP Exploration, Shell Offshore, Inc.,

TOR K. KRAGAS, BROCK A. WILLIAMS, GREGORY A. MYERS

SPE 71529

CiDRA Corporation, and Optoplan A.S. and of personnel in

Wood Group Production Technology, Ltd., Nova Technology
Corporation, and Pruett Industries, Inc. in the development
and installation of the systems described in this paper.
References
Udd, E.: Fiber Optic Sensors: An Introduction for Engineers
and Scientists, John Wiley & Sons, New York, (1991).
2. Kersey, A.D.: A Review of Recent Developments in Fiber
Optic Sensor Technology, Optical Fiber Technol. (1996), 2,
291.
3. van Gisbergen, S.J.C.H.M and Vandeweijer, A.A.H.:
Reliability Analysis of Permanent Downhole Monitoring
Systems, paper OTC 10945 presented at the 1999 Offshore
Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, May 3-6.
4. Hartog, A.H., et al.: Distributed Temperature Sensing in Solid
Core Fibers, Electron. Lett. (1985), 21, 1061.
5. Kersey, A.D., et al.: Fiber Grating Sensors, J. Lightwave
Technol. (1997), 15, No. 8.
6. Kersey, A.D.: Optical Fiber Sensors for Permanent Downwell
Monitoring Applications in the Oil and Gas Industry, IEICE
Trans. Electron. (2000), E83-C, No. 3, 400-404.
7. Kersey, A.D., Gysling, D.L., and Bostick, F.X.: Fiber-Optic
Systems for Reservoir Monitoring, World Oil (1999), October,
91-97.
8. van der Spek, A.M., Gysling, D.L., Myers, G.A., Purdy, G.E.,
Tucker, C.F., and Rambow, F.: Deep Water Deployment of
Downhole Two-Phase Fiber-Optic Flow Monitoring System,
paper submitted for SPE publication, June, 2001.
9. Gysling, D.L., Vandeweijer, T., and van der Spek, A.:
"Development of a Permanent Downhole Two Phase Flow
Meter," paper presented at the SRI 2000 Multiphase Metering
and Pumping Conference, Houston, Texas, February.
10. Gysling, D.L., and van der Spek, A.M.: "Fiber Optic Downhole
Multiphase Flow Meter: Flow Loop Evaluation for Oil/Water
Mixtures," paper presented at the National Engineering
Laboratory Downhole Instrumentation Seminar, Glasgow
Scotland, October 23, 2000.

1.

Table 1. Pioneer In-well Fiber Optic Deployments

Field
Sleen
Gyda
Guillemot
Heron
Heron
Heron
Egret
Marnock
Marnock
Marnock

Input
Signal

Completion
Year Operator
Type
1993
Shell
Land
1994
BP
Platform
1996
Shell
Subsea
Pod
1998
Shell
Subsea
1998
Shell
Subsea
1998
Shell
Subsea

Depth
(ft)
5,900
18,000
6,900

Temp.
(F)
185
320
230

Press.
(psia)
1,800
6,750
6,000

13,800
13,800
13,800

338
338
338

13,500
13,500
13,500

1998
1998
1999
1999

13,800
12,500
12,500
12,500

338
320
320
320

13,500
10,500
10,500
10,500

Shell
BP
BP
BP

Photoimprinted
Grating

Fiber
Core

Transmitted
Signal

Reflected
Signal

Strain

Input Spectrum

Single Sensor Location

Continuous Sensor

Distributed Sensor

Multi-Point Sensor

Multiple Sensor Locations

Fig. 1Configuration modes for permanent in-well fiber optic

sensor systems.

Reflected Spectrum

Transmitted Spectrum

Single-Point Sensor

Subsea
Platform
Platform
Platform

strain-induced
shift

Fig. 2Section of optical fiber with a Bragg grating written into

the core. The grating acts as a wavelength-specific reflector of
light. When the grating is subject to strain, the reflected
wavelength shifts in a linear manner. Thus, the grating can be
viewed as an optical strain gauge.

THE OPTIC OIL FIELD: DEPLOYMENT AND APPLICATION OF PERMANENT IN-WELL FIBER OPTIC SENSING SYSTEMS
140
140

Surface
Instrumentation
Rugged,
Scalable,
Distributed
Sensing,
Multi-well

Cables &
Connectors

Qualified for high

temperature & pressure,
H2S, corrosives

Fig. 3Components of an in-well fiber optic monitoring

system.

Optical
Gauge
Pressure
Reference Optical
Gauge
Pressure
Optical Gauge Temperature
Optical Gauge
Temperature

120
120

70
160

100
100

65
150

80
80

60
140

60
60

55
130

40
40

50
120

Transducers
Pressure,
Temperature,
Flow,
Liquid Fraction,
Seismic

75
170
Reference
Gauge Pressure
Gauge
Pressure

Pressure, psia

Wellhead Equipment

20
20
0:00
0:00

6:00
6:00

12:00
12:00

Temperature, F

SPE 71529

45
110
0:00
24:00

18:00
18:00

Time
Fig. 4Data from the Bragg grating pressure gauge at Kern
River field after two years of operation, compared with data
from a reference gauge. Note the correspondence in pressure
cycling data as the beam pump unloads.

Upper Cover Plate

Fiber Optic Cable

Chemical Injection &

SSSV Lines

P/T Transducer

Bottom Swagelok

Fiber Optic Cable

Buffer Tubes
Pressure Foot

Fig. 5Fiber optic pressure and temperature transducer being

installed in the gauge mandrel, in preparation for deployment
in a Gulf of Mexico well.

Fig. 6To penetrate the tubing hanger, the 1/4 fiber optic cable
was passed through the hanger and spooled in the hanger
bowl. Swagelok fittings above and below the hanger provided a
double seal.
250
x50

4000
x000

Pressure
Pressure

3000
x000

Pressure, psia

225

Temperature
Temperature

Pressure Test

Temperature, F

3500

x00
200

Well Shut-ins

175

2500
`

x50
150

2000
x000

48 Core Cable
125

1500

1000
x000
Apr
Apr

Fig. 7The multi-core fiber optic surface cable was run from a
junction box to the instrumentation unit in the control room.

May
May

Jun
Jun

Jul
Jul

Aug
Aug

Sep
Sep

Oct
Oct

Nov
Nov

Dec
Dec

x00
100

Fig. 8Sampling of data from the first 9 months of operation of

the fiber optic pressure and temperature gauge in a Gulf of
Mexico well. Pressure divisions are 500 psia and temperature
divisions are 25F.

TOR K. KRAGAS, BROCK A. WILLIAMS, GREGORY A. MYERS

3500

SPE 71529

3000
Shut-in

Step Rate Test

Buildup Test

Optical Downhole Gauge

3000

2980

Pressure, psia

Pressure, psia

Optical Downhole Gauge

2500

2960

2000

2940

1500

2920

Electronic Surface Gauge

1000
12:00
12:00

18:00
18:00

0:00
0:00

6:00
6:00

12:00
12:00

Time

18:00
18:00

Shut-in

0:00
0:00

6:00
6:00

Fig. 9Comparison of data from the fiber optic downhole

gauge and an electronic surface gauge during a pressure test.
Single Fiber Optic Cable

Flow Meter Gauges

2900
12:00
12:00

18:00
18:00

Step Rate Test

0:00
0:00

6:00
6:00

12:00
12:00

Time

Buildup Test

18:00
18:00

0:00
0:00

6:00
6:00

Fig. 10Expanded-scale plot of data from the fiber optic

downhole gauge during a pressure test.

Fiber Optic Cable Spool

Pressure and
Temperature Gauges

Standard Premium
ThreadConnectors

Fig. 11First-ever in-well fiber optic flowmeter delivers realtime pressure, temperature, flow rate and water fraction data.
Fig. 12Fiber optic cable spool and support cabin on the riser
deck, along with spools for chemical injection and safety valve
lines.
Fiber Optic
Flowmeter

Fig. 13The fiber optic flowmeter is lifted from the transport

cradle on the rig floor by the pipe lifting system, hoisted in
place, and installed in the production tubing string. The cable
clamps are shown in the foreground.

Fig. 14Standard clamps are used to secure the fiber optic

cable, along with the safety valve and chemical injection lines,
while running in hole. Right photo shows the line being fed
through the automatic slips.

SPE 71529

THE OPTIC OIL FIELD: DEPLOYMENT AND APPLICATION OF PERMANENT IN-WELL FIBER OPTIC SENSING SYSTEMS

10000.0

70
7750.0

9000.0
60

8000.0

7700.0

time period 2:36-4:02

40

5000.0
30

4000.0
3000.0

20

Pressure

time period 4:33-4:54

7650.0

Pressure, psia

Pressure (PSIA)

6000.0

Temperature, F

50

7000.0

time period 5:09-5:49

7600.0

7550.0

7500.0

Temperature
10

7450.0

1000.0
0.0

5000

10000

15000

Total Measured Depth (ft)

20000

7400.0
1500

25000

7300.0

3900

7290.0

3800

7280.0

3700

7270.0

3600

7260.0

3500

7250.0

3400

7240.0

6800.0

3300

7230.0

6600.0

7220.0

6400.0

7210.0

6200.0

7200.0

6000.0

3100

3000
17:45

18:15

18:45

19:15

19:45

20:15

Time

20:45

21:15

21:45

2500

3000

22:15

Fig. 17Downhole flow rate and flowing pressure during a

surface separator well test. The difference between the
average separator flow rate and the average downhole rate is
an indication of the formation volume factor of the oil.

8000.0

6000

7800.0
5000
7600.0

7400.0

4000

Pressure, psia

Pressure, psia

Flow Rate, bpd

4000

Total Flow Rate, bpd downhole

Well Test, bpd @ separator
Pressure, psia

Flow Rate (bpd)

Fig. 16The fiber optic flowmeter enables a direct

determination of productivity index during well startup. Here,
downhole flowing tubing pressure is plotted versus downhole
flow rate for three periods, showing excellent consistency of
data.

Fig. 15Pressure and temperature data obtained from the

flowmeter while running in hole, providing a log of the well.

3200

2000

Total Flow Rate, bpd

2000.0

7200.0

7000.0

3000

2000

1000

Pressure
Total Flow Rate

0
1:57

2:27

2:58

3:28

3:59

Time

4:30

5:00

5:31

6:02

6:33

Fig. 18Downhole flow rate and flowing pressure during well

clean-up. The pressure increases and flow rate decreases as
the choke clogs, and then recovers when the choke is rocked.