loading page

Optically Quantifying Spatiotemporal Responses of Water Injection-Induced Strain via Downhole Distributed Fiber Optics Sensing
  • +1
  • Yankun Sun,
  • Ziqiu Xue,
  • Tsutomu Hashimoto,
  • Yi Zhang
Yankun Sun
Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Ziqiu Xue
Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth
Author Profile
Tsutomu Hashimoto
Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth
Author Profile
Yi Zhang
Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth
Author Profile

Abstract

Harsh subsurface environment limits robust workability of on-site instrumentation to be leveraged to track solid Earth’s dynamics. Distributed fiber-optic sensing technology (DFOS) allows long-period in-situ real-time detection of crustal geoenergy exploration-induced underground motions. Here, we first deployed 300-m-long fiber-optic cables behind casing of an actual injection well via single-ended, hybrid Brillouin-Rayleigh backscatterings interrogator to distributed monitor water injection test between two adjacent wells in onshore Mobara, Japan. Detailed DFOS recordings over the entire borehole visualized clear-cut spatiotemporal strain responses from one water injection. Potential injected water-transport footprint and impacted zone reasonably coincided with those of analogy-based strain fronts. Our study thus further uncovered that injection volume and injection pressure significantly dominated water injection-driven strain magnitude and coverage.
Jan 2021Published in Fuel volume 283 on pages 118948. 10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118948