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Title: Disposable fiber optics telemetry for measuring while drilling

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/471401· OSTI ID:471401

The project addressed the need of the oil and gas industry for real-time information about the drilling process and the formations being drilled. An ideal system would allow measuring while drilling (MWD) and would transmit data to the surface immediately at a rate high enough to support video or televiewer systems. A proposed solution was to use an optical fiber as a link between the surface and the instrumentation package. We explored the use of a disposable MWD telemetry cable, drawing on the technology developed for missile guidance which deploys miles of fiber from a small spool at missile speeds approaching half the speed of sound. Emphasis In was on the questions of survivability of the unarmored fiber in the drill string environment and deployability. Laboratory and field testing showed the concept worked under realistic conditions; a field demonstration transmitted data at 10 kilobits per second from a depth of 3500 feet.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
471401
Report Number(s):
SAND-97-1063; ON: DE97005924; TRN: 97:003144
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English