bp has successfully started up a deep water well in 2021 with permanent in-well seismic acquisition capabilities by deploying a new technology called DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing). This provides ability to conduct on-demand surveillance of the well with no disruption to the production. Additionally, it is cheaper, safer, and in harmony with carbon footprint reduction goals compared to traditional methods.

The Subsea System entails an engineered fiber optic cable, installed in the well during completions, with distributed sensing element, wet tree system with fiber optic feed thru connector, distribution network involving optical flying leads, and umbilical systems.  The Topside System consists of distribution of the umbilical fibers to the DAS system’s ‘brain’ called Interrogator. It is housed inside a cabinet that establishes power, communication, and connectivity to bp onshore network for remote well monitoring and DAS data processing in real time.  

This DAS enabled well with wet tree is first of its kind for bp and for the industry. This presentation will provide technical overview of the system, and learnings during project delivery, commissioning, and operations. This system was validated by performing a zero offset VSP (Vertical Seismic Profiling) prior to well startup, and subsequent production noise recording remotely after well startup. It will also provide bp’s perspective on this technology for future developments.