4 August 2025
Course Description
This course presents a broad exposure to fiber-optic monitoring and leads the student through the steps of sensing system selection, design and installation/deployment. The technology addressed in this course originated for oil and gas operations but are applicable for subsurface CCUS, geothermal and low-carbon energy projects.
Various data needs exist to properly calibrate and validate reservoir development and completion/stimulation and reservoir performance models. These needs vary based on well types and general design specifications (onshore vs. offshore, vertical vs. horizontal, etc.) as well as reservoir rock and fluid characteristics. Once the data needs are defined, the specific sensing (monitoring) system and high-level data acquisition plan can be designed.
The first segment of this course provides guidance for using in-well fiber-optic monitoring for completion and stimulation diagnostics as well as reservoir and well surveillance, with a special focus on unconventional resource plays. Fiber-optic sensing is a major diagnostic tool which can provide critical information to validate, constrain and calibrate various models (fracture growth, reservoir drainage, well placement, perf cluster and stage placement, etc.) used to optimize field development. After a well is brought on production, fiber-optic sensing can provide key surveillance information that has been historically acquired with cased hole logs and other traditional monitoring systems: inflow (production) profiles, injection management, stimulation/re-stimulation efficiency, water and gas breakthrough location, sand production.
The second course segment provides the knowledge and tools to design and manage the execution of fiber-optic-instrumented well completions and well interventions, which will provide key data and information to optimize well completions and asset performance. Upon completion, the student will have the basis to properly recommend when and where to apply fiber-optic sensing to optimize field development and manage well and reservoir performance.