Directional sensitive fiber optic cable wellbore system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10558105-B2
Application number	US-201916436268-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2019
Priority date	Jan 8, 2018
Publication date	Feb 11, 2020
Grant date	Feb 11, 2020

Abstract

A fiber optic cable assembly includes an elongate housing, a signal fiber placed inside the housing and extending longitudinally, and a plurality of sensing fibers placed inside the housing and extending longitudinally. The plurality of sensing fibers is placed around the signal fiber. Each of the plurality of sensing fibers carries a respective laser signal of a distinct frequency. The signal fiber carries one or more evanescent coupling signals responsive to the laser signals in the plurality of sensing fibers.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
transmitting laser signals to a plurality of sensing fibers in a fiber optic cable assembly, wherein each sensing fiber carries one laser signal, each laser signal has a distinct frequency, and the fiber optic cable assembly comprises:
an elongate housing; and
a signal fiber and the plurality of sensing fibers placed inside the housing and extending longitudinally, wherein the plurality of sensing fibers are placed around the signal fiber, the signal fiber carries one or more evanescent coupling signals responsive to the laser signals in the plurality of sensing fibers, and the fiber optic cable assembly is strapped outside a tubing in a wellbore formed in a formation;
receiving, from the signal fiber of the fiber optic cable assembly, the one or more evanescent coupling signals; and
based on the one or more evanescent coupling signals, determining flow velocities of first flowing media flowing through the tubing and second flowing media flowing through an annulus between the formation and the tubing.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wellbore is a horizontal wellbore, and the method further comprising using a fiber optic gyro to determine an orientation of the fiber optic cable assembly in the wellbore.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the flow velocities includes determining pressure levels of the first flowing media and the second flowing media based on amplitudes of the one or more evanescent coupling signals.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the signal fiber and one of the plurality of sensing fibers changes with an environmental variation, and the change in the distance causes an evanescent coupling signal in the signal fiber corresponding to the laser signal in the one of the plurality of sensing fibers, and the evanescent coupling signal has a same frequency as the laser signal in the one of the plurality of sensing fibers.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the environmental variation includes at least one of temperature, strain-stress, or pressure change around the fiber optic cable assembly.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a refraction index of one of the plurality of the sensing fibers changes with an environmental variation, and the change in the refraction index causes an evanescent coupling signal in the signal fiber corresponding to the laser signal in the one of the plurality of sensing fibers, and the evanescent coupling signal has a same frequency as the laser signal in the one of the plurality of sensing fibers.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Alerigi Damian Pablo San Roman
• Hveding Frode

Classifications

• G01L1/243

  using means for applying force perpendicular to the fibre axis · CPC title

• G01H9/004

  using fibre optic sensors (light guides per se G02B6/00, acousto-optical devices specially adapted for gating or modulating in optical wave guides G02F1/125) · CPC title

• G01D5/35377

  Means for amplifying or modifying the measured quantity · CPC title

• G01K5/48

  the material being a solid · CPC title

• G01K11/32

  using changes in transmittance, scattering or luminescence in optical fibres · CPC title