Distributed Acoustic Sensing: State of the Art

Abstract

Abstract Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is a newly developed passive fiber optic sensing technology. It has the ability to detect acoustic signals anywhere along the length of the fiber with a high frequency response and a tight spatial resolution. DAS has a bright future within the upstream oil and gas industry though it is currently not well understood as it is such a new technology. This paper will first provide a thorough discussion of the technology's functionality including the factors that influence its frequency response and spatial resolution as well as how to directly calculate these parameters. Next, the paper will discus both proven and unproven applications of DAS technology. The current proven applications are near well-bore hydraulic fracture stimulation surveillance, flow profiling, well integrity monitoring, vertical seismic profiling, gas-lift optimization, sand detection, and ESP monitoring each of which are discussed in contrast to current alternative techniques. Case examples are summarized for each of these applications. Some of the unproven applications of DAS are summarized like multi-phase flow measurements and microseismic monitoring.