Claims
- 1. A method of taking measurements of parameters in wells, comprising:
disposing a fiber optic cable in a plurality of wells such that portions of the fiber optic cable are disposed in respective wells; receiving an optical signal from the fiber optic cable; and determining a parameter in at least one of the wells based on the received optical signal.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising pumping the fiber optic cable through a control line by use of fluid drag.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the optical signal comprises receiving a backscattered optical signal.
- 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising pumping the fiber optic cable through a control line by use of fluid drag.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein disposing the fiber optic cable in the plurality of wells is accomplished without splicing the fiber optic cable between portions of the fiber optic cable in the respective wells.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the parameter comprises determining a temperature.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the temperature comprises determining the temperature during a steam injection operation.
- 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising adjusting steam injection based on the determined temperature.
- 9. A method for obtaining information of subterranean wells, comprising:
disposing a fiber optic cable in a plurality of wells such that a first portion of the cable extends from one of the wells and a second portion extends from a second of the wells; providing optical communication between the first portion of the fiber optic cable and a processing unit; sending an optical signal through the fiber optic cable; and ascertaining a parameter within the wells by the processing unit based upon a return optical signal.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the parameter is temperature and the processing unit ascertains the temperature based upon a backscattered optical signal.
- 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing optical communication between the second portion of the fiber optic cable and the processing unit.
- 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
disposing a second fiber optic cable down each of a plurality of a second set of wells such that a first portion of the second cable extends from one of the wells and a second portion extends from a second of the wells; providing optical communication between the first portion of the second fiber optic cable and the processing unit; sending an optical signal through the second fiber optic cable; and ascertaining a parameter within the second set of wells by the processing unit based upon a return optical signal from the second fiber optic cable.
- 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
coupling the first optic cable to a first wellhead enclosure; coupling the first wellhead enclosure to the processing unit by way of a third cable; coupling the second optic cable to a second wellhead enclosure; and coupling the second wellhead enclosure to the processing unit by way of a fourth cable.
- 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the wells are part of a steam flood operation that includes the injection of steam, the method further comprising adjusting the steam injection into at least one of the wells based on the parameter measured.
- 15. An apparatus for measurement in wells, comprising:
a fiber optic cable to be disposed in a plurality of wells, the fiber optic cable having portions in respective wells; and a unit to receive optical signals from the fiber optic cable to indicate values of a parameter of the plurality of wells.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a mechanism to pump the fiber optic cable through a control line by use of fluid drag.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the fiber optic cable is to be disposed in the plurality of wells without splicing the fiber optic cable between portions of the fiber optic cable in respective wells.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the plural portions of the fiber optic cable comprises a first segment extending into a respective well and a second segment extending from the first segment and exiting the respective well.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a steam injector to inject steam into at least one of the wells, the steam injector to adjust steam injection based on a value of the parameter from the unit.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the unit comprises a unit to sense temperature, the parameter comprising temperature.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a processor to analyze the optical signals and to determine values of the parameters at plural points in the plurality of wells.
- 22. A daisy chain sensing apparatus comprising:
a fiber optic cable comprising a first end, a second end, and a plurality of loops, the loops being disposed down a plurality of wells; and a processing unit for sending an optical signal to the fiber optic cable and for receiving a returning optical signal from the fiber optic cable; wherein the returning optical signal is analyzed for parameter information about the plurality of wells.
- 23. The daisy chain sensing apparatus of claim 22, further comprising a mechanism to pump the fiber optic cable through a control line by fluid use of drag.
- 24. The daisy chain sensing apparatus of claim 22, wherein the parameter comprises temperature.
- 25. The daisy chain sensing apparatus of claim 22, wherein the plurality of wells are part of a steam flood operation.
- 26. The daisy chain sensing apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:
a wellhead enclosure coupled between a group of wells and the processing unit, the group of wells comprising at least one of the plurality of wells, wherein the wellhead enclosure receives the first end and the second end of the fiber optic cable.
- 27. The daisy chain sensing apparatus of claim 26, wherein a first loop of the plurality of loops comprises a first measuring point positioned at a first portion of the first loop and a second measuring point positioned at a second portion of the first loop, the first measuring point being physically close to the second measuring point, wherein the processing unit compares the returning optical signal from the first measuring point and from the second measuring point.
- 28. An article comprising at least a storage medium containing instructions that when executed cause a system to:
cause an optical signal to be sent through a fiber optic cable, wherein the fiber optic cable is disposed down a well in a loop comprising a first portion and a second portion such that the first portion and the second portion are both within the well; ascertain a temperature within the well based upon a returning optical signal received from the fiber optic.
- 29. The article of claim 28, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to further:
obtain a first temperature from a first measuring point, wherein the first measuring point is along the first portion of the loop of the fiber optic cable; obtain a second temperature from a second measuring point, wherein the second measuring point is along the second portion of the loop of the fiber optic cable and the second measuring point is substantially adjacent to the first measuring point; and compare the first temperature with the second temperature.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/384,475, titled “Daisy Chain Parameter Sensing Apparatus and Method,” filed May 31, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60384475 |
May 2002 |
US |