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Technology Information Session

 

2008 03 05

Field Trial Results and Preliminary Reliability Assessment of Fiber Optic Thermal Monitoring Systems for SAGD

Registration

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
8:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Technical Information Session

Nexen Annex (+15 level)
801 - 7th Ave SW, Calgary, AB

Invitation

LxSix Photonics Inc. along with PTAC Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, and event co-sponsor Nexen invite you to attend a Technical Information Session to review field evaluation results of LxSix SAGD thermal monitoring system. At an earlier PTAC session in February 2007, an overview of the system was presented to solicit field evaluation with SAGD operators in Alberta. LxSix is pleased to report back to PTAC with success in field evaluation in an operating SAGD injection well.

The system has now been fully operational since installation in November, operating continuously and meeting target performance and lifetime expectation. This paper will present trial performance results, and a preliminary system reliability assessment based on 2,000-hour field data. The talk will also include a brief preview of simulation and visualization tools enabled by downhole thermal data, and potential benefits in applying this information to enhance SAGD operations.

ABSTRACT

It is generally recognized that in-well thermal monitoring offers great potential to enhance SAGD operations. Temperature measurements distributed along the horizontal section would allow for accurate monitoring of steam chamber growth to control injection and promote uniform heating of the reservoir. Thermal monitoring could also provide a useful tool to identify and take pre-emptive action against events that threaten well-bore integrity.

Unfortunately with conventional sensors such as thermocouples, it is not practical to install the necessary number of sensors to give a meaningful representation across the entire kilometer or so long well-bore. Legacy fiber optic systems capable of such measurement suffer from severe limitations in the high temperature SAGD environment due marginal power budget and dynamic range, leading to measurement error and premature failure. In contrast, LxSix has developed a thermal monitoring system designed specifically to withstand the rigors of the downhole SAGD environment. Based on fiber optic Bragg grating measurement technology, which is insensitive to power excursions with large relative dynamic range, the LxSix system offers unrivaled reliability in terms of data quality and service life. LxSix is pleased to report success in the initial field evaluation of this system in an operating SAGD well.

The system has been fully operational since installation, meeting or exceeding performance expectations, with excellent correlation to downhole temperature references. The system has been operating now continuously well beyond the point where legacy fiber optic systems fail, and is following a predicted reliability model, with initial data analysis trending toward service life of several years. This paper will present this reliability model coupled with updated field data to assess long term system reliability and performance. Distributed multi-point thermal measurement across the entire horizontal SAGD section allows for the creation of physical and heuristic simulation and visualization tools to fully realize the value of thermal monitoring in SAGD. This talk will conclude with a preview of some of these new simulation tools.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Bitumen Producers

  • Reservoir and Production Engineers and Managers
  • SAGD Operators
  • Well Instrumentation Engineers
  • Reservoir Monitoring Software Developers
Registration Fee (until February 26, 2008)

PTAC Members

Complimentary

Not-For-Profit Associations

Complimentary

Non-Members

$50.00 (+GST)

Onsite Registration Fee (February 27, 2008)

PTAC Members

$25.00 (+GST)

Not-For-Profit Associations

$25.00 (+GST)

Non-Members

$75.00 (+GST)

Please be advised that PTAC reserves the option to charge $ 25 + GST to PTAC members that register and do not attend, unless notification of cancellation is received by PTAC a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the TIS.

To obtain Technical Information please contact:
Peter Ficocelli
LxSix Photonics Inc.
pficocelli@lxsix.com
514 599-5714 Ext. 263

DISCLAIMER

PTAC is only a facilitator for these presentations. PTAC makes no representation regarding ownership or quality of any technology described by a presenter, or generally as to the contents of a presentation. PTAC does not endorse any presenter nor the technology presented. Please use your own judgment. PTAC trusts that each presenter will engage in fair trade practices, but does not police or otherwise enforce this policy in any manner.

   
 

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For further information,
please contact:

Ralf Aggarwal, PTAC
Manager, Environmental Technology Initiatives
phone 403.218.7711
fax 403.920.0054
raggarwal@ptac.org

     

© PTAC 2008

2008 02 11 LF