Hans Potters

Distributed acoustic sensing for reservoir monitoring with vertical seismic profiling

Distributed Acoustic Sensing is a novel technology for seismic data acquisition, particularly suitable for Vertical Seismic Profiling. It is a break-through for low-cost, on-demand, seismic monitoring of reservoirs, both onshore and offshore. In this article we explain how Distributed Acoustic Sensing works and demonstrate its usability for typical Vertical Seismic Profiling applications such as checkshots, imaging, and time-lapse monitoring. We show numerous data examples, and discuss Distributed Acoustic Sensing as an enabler of seismic monitoring with 3D Vertical Seismic Profiling. Key words: Borehole geophysics, Acquisition, Seismics, Time lapse, Monitoring.

Fiber Optic Technology for Reservoir Surveillance

Fiber-optic sensing technology for in-well applications has traditionally focused on temperature profiling. This has limited the application of fiber-optic reservoir surveillance to recovery processes with a pronounced thermal signature. Currently, novel fiber-optic technologies entering the market promise a much wider range of subsurface measurements. This opens new avenues in well and reservoir management and highlights the opportunity for fiber-optics to become a pervasive oilfield technology. In this paper we discuss field trials that combine Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS), Distributed Strain Sensing (DSS) and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). These trials demonstrate the potential of fiber-optic sensing technology for well integrity monitoring, gas lift optimization, in-flow profiling and downhole seismic acquisition.

Recent Advances in Seismic Monitoring of Thermal EOR

Well-planned and executed reservoir surveillance has proven to add significantly to the production and ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons, notably in areas of Improved and Enhanced Oil Recovery (IOR/EOR). Recent technological advances in the area of data acquisition and integration have led to increased use of well and reservoir surveillance data to optimize such processes. In the case of thermal EOR, one of the most important subsurface uncertainties impacting performance is heat and steam front conformance, both vertically and arealy. This paper illustrates new geophysical technologies used for monitoring various thermal EOR recovery strategies in The Netherlands, Canada, and Oman. We focus on permanently buried seismic sources and receivers, refraction seismic, down-hole seismic, and the newly developed Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) to enable low-cost and non-intrusive seismic surveillance. These technologies are not without challenges, but our field trials indicate they have the potential to broaden the successful application of reservoir monitoring onshore.