Optically Quantifying Spatiotemporal Responses of Water
Injection-Induced Strain via Downhole Distributed Fiber Optics Sensing
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.