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Fiber Optic Cable Installation

Delivered January 14, 2020. Contributor: Mik W.

Goals

A detailed breakdown on how to install fiber optic cables into fracking well in order to understand all the costs and risks associated with this to compare to a potentially competing solution. The breakdown would ideally include a step by step process, estimated cost for each step, estimated time for each step, technical risks associated with installing fiber optic cables into a fracking well, companies that sell the fiber optic lines, companies that install the cables, types of fiber optic cables, types of wells that currently use fiber optic cables.

Early Findings

  • Hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) is a "technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock."
  • The Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) and Distributed Temperature Sensors (DTS)"are used for multiple measurements along the whole wellbore."
  • The existing DAS systems "utilize standard single mode fibre."
  • During the hydraulic fracturing treatment, real time data is gathered to analyze the fluid allocations per cluster via recordings from the acoustic energy distribution and temperature profiling.
  • The fibre is also used to "acquire seismic and microseismic data at different stages of the well completion. Low frequency crosswell strain is also measured in an observation well or in an offset well."
  • Over the past few years, "the utilization of distributed fibre measurements has been increasing. Installing a permanent fibre cable on the outside of a casing string can measure the entire wellbore."
  • "However, the requirements for the cable orientation and directional perforation adds additional complexity and costs for the installation of the fibre and, therefore, limits the number of wells that can be instrumented with fibre and monitored simultaneously."

Types of Fiber Optic Cables

Below are the different types of Fiber Optic Cables, with Single Mode Fiber core being typically used for fracking in DAS systems.

1. Multimode Fiber Core
  • Standard Size: 50 um and 62.5 um (microns)
  • Multimode Fiber Wavelengths : 850nm and 1300nm
  • Multimode (MM) Fiber "uses an LED as its light source and is used for short distances or less bandwidth intensive applications."
2. Single Mode Fiber Core
  • Standard Size: 8 – 9 um (microns)
  • Single Mode Fiber Wavelengths : 1310 nm and 1550 nm
  • Single Mode (SM) is "used for long distances or higher bandwidth needs and uses a laser as its light source."
  • Single Mode fibers "are identified by the designation OS or Optical Single-mode Fiber. "

Types of Single Mode Fibers

a. OS1 (Single Mode Tight Buffered Cable)
  • OS1 type cable "uses a tight buffered construction."
  • Application: "(Indoor Use) — moderate distance telco local loops, LANs and point-to-point links in cities, buildings, factories, office parks or campuses. OS1 can support speeds up to 10G and distances up to about 10km (6 miles). "

b. OS2 (Single Mode Loose Tube Cable)
  • OS2 is a "loose tube or blown cable construction. "
  • Application: "(Outdoor Use) high fiber count, long distance telco backbone and backhaul lines, direct bury applications along streets and railroads. OS2 can support speeds up to 100G and distances up to 200km (124 miles)."
PROPRIETARY RESEARCH AVAILABLE
We found some proprietary research from one of our data partners which may be helpful:
  • Fiber Optics Market by Cable Type (Single-mode, Multi-mode), Optical Fiber Type (Glass, Plastics), Application (Telecom, Premises, Utility, CATV, Military, Industrial, Sensors, Fiber Optic Lighting, Security, Metropolitan), Region — Global Forecast to 2024 (MarketsandMarkets, $ 4,950.00 USD)
  • Fiber Optic Market, By Fiber Type $ 402.50 USD 

If you'd like us to purchase any of these reports on your behalf, just let us know!

Proposed next steps:

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We were able to identify a brief overview on the use of fiber optics used in fracking as well as the different types of fiber optic cables. We recommend a deeper dive on how to install fiber optic cables into fracking well in order to understand all the costs and risks associated with this in relation to its use in Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) and Distributed Temperature Sensors (DTS). Each breakdown would ideally include a step by step process on its installation, estimated cost for each step, estimated time for each step, and technical risks associated with its installation, if available.
To get all of the information requested, we also recommend dedicating additional research to find 5-10 companies that sell fiber optic lines and 5-10 companies that install the cables. We also recommend further research to identify the types of wells that currently use fiber optic cables.
We also suggest further research into the market growth of both Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) and Distributed Temperature Sensors (DTS).