FBG for Oil and Gas Exploration

Abstract

In the petroleum industry, advances in technology are required for cost-effective production in key reservoir exploration areas and oil-well production management to increase yield and profit. This manuscript reviews our research works on advanced fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and their reservoir exploration applications in local geology. Several cladding FBGs are introduced for seismic exploration, which are interrogated by a simple power detection system. These FBGs show high sensitivities to vibration/acceleration, together with a strong orientation dependence. Orthogonal cladding FBG inscriptions can perceive two-dimensional vibration information, i.e., vector vibration sensing. Power perturbations are referenced with respect to the core resonance that is insensitive to vibration, thereby stabilizing the sensing system. Seismic physical modeling (SPM) is another method for gathering seismic data and bridging computational modeling and field exploration. In previous reports, aimed at SPM imaging, several wide-frequency FBG sensors were developed for detecting ultrasound waves (UWs) in the range of 100 kHz–10 MHz. The interrogation technology uses a low-cost spectral sideband filtering technology. The key strategy in prior research was to narrow the spectral band to increase the UW sensitivity of the sensor. Compared with piezoelectric transducers, FBG sensors have a compact structure, large detection angle, and high sensitivity, spatial resolution, stability, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Combining the two technologies can help humans determine more specific physical properties (geometric, kinematic, and dynamic) of hydrocarbon reservoirs.