September 2010
USSI has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2010 North American Technology Innovation of the Year Award for Fiber Optic Sensor Technology for the Oil & Gas Industry market segment
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Frost & Sullivan is entering its 50th year in business with a global research organization of 1,800 analysts and consultants who monitor more than 300 industries and 250,000 companies. The Company’s research philosophy originates with the CEO’s 360-Degree Perspective,* which in turn serves as the foundation of its TEAM Research** methodology. This unique approach enables us to determine how best-in-class companies worldwide manage growth, innovation and leadership. Based on the findings of this Best Practices research, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2010 North American Technology Innovation of the Year Award to US Seismic Systems, Inc. for their development of fiber optic sensor technology for the oil and gas industry.
Significance of the Technology Innovation Award
Key Industry Challenges
New oil discoveries and current levels of oil production are unable keep pace with growing worldwide oil demand. To make up for this shortfall, companies need to improve oil productivity from existing fields. This, in turn, will require improvements in oil tapping techniques. Sensor technology also plays a critical role in this process by providing the needed support to achieve increased oil production. One such method, known as the 4D seismic technique, helps increase the percentage of oil extracted. For the 4D technique to be cost-effective, permanently installed seismic sensors are essential. Since sensor systems, based on magnet or coil geophones that are used for 4D seismic sensing, are not designed for permanent installations, the data delivered by those systems is not reliable for critical applications such as those used in the oil and gas sector. As a result, the possibility of errors is increased. When it comes to using conventional sensors, electronics are required to convert the relatively weak output into a usable form that can be transmitted over long distances. It is important that these electronics be placed in close proximity to the sensor in order to limit unnecessary noise prior to amplification and digitization of the signal. Therefore, replacement sensors with enhanced features are required to achieve improved oil tapping efficiencies and thus address growing oil demand.
Before an industry will adopt an all-new technology, several factors need to be considered such as cost, noise floor, safety, operating bandwidth, etc. It is also important that the technology be a comparatively less expensive solution so that the costs associated with retrieving and repairing a sensor located on the ocean floor, or some other deep location, can be achieved at a reasonable cost. These sensors also need to possess a low noise floor, which is an essential aspect in order to avoid unnecessary confusion that might arise as a result of the external noise sources present around the system.
In 4D reservoir monitoring, the sensor’s ability to operate over a wider bandwidth provides a picture with higher resolution thus giving better clarity of oil availability. The system’s safety and reliability are also critical in achieving widespread adoption. When it comes to geophones, coupling the geophone with a suite of electronics, which must be miniaturized, poses a huge challenge. In addition to ensuring the system’s safety, the use of electrical power downhole must be congruent with OSHA regulations. However, fiber optic sensors would easily meet these needs as they would not require said electronics, thereby improving reliability while also providing immunity to electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.
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