Enhanced access and visualization of fiber-optics data using a simple transmission system

Revitalizing brown fields requires that innovative measurements reach the right people at the right time with the right sampling rate. Three mature wells located on the same pad were completed with fiber-optics distributed temperature sensors (DTSs) to record temperature profiles along the wellbore axes. The DTS data were transferred from the wellsite to the office in town using a simple but innovative data delivery channel. A lightweight, low-power-consumption autonomous monitoring system deployed at wellsite, automatically collected the key data from remote terminal units (RTUs), compressed the data, and transferred it over a broadband satellite network for storage in a landing server located at the office. The data transmission system provides rich connectivity options with BGAN satellite, 3G cellular, and wireless options. The entire system worked autonomously and had the capability of being remotely managed from anywhere over the corporate IT network. Once the data is stored on the landing server, historical trends, including DTS profiles, were visualized and data sets could be retrieved using a fast and user-friendly software enabling data import into interpretation and reservoir modelling software packages. Use of this data collection and transmission system versus the traditional manual download brought timely data delivery to multiple users, coupled with improved safety because land travels were eliminated. This paper will detail a case study, lesson learned, and new practices used to improve reservoir understanding from this deployment experience.