Seismic Imaging System Installed in France

TRONDHEIM, Norway, Dec. 9 -- A multistation, multicomponent fiber optic in-well seismic imaging and monitoring array has been installed in southwestern France by Weatherford International Ltd. The company said the distributed array of accelerometers, which provides time-lapse seismic imaging, is the first of its kind.

Weatherford and its specialist subsidiary, Optoplan, developed the fiber Bragg grating-based multichannel system, which was deployed in a well at the Izaute Gas Storage oil company TotalFinaElf. The design qualification and installation project, led by Optoplan, was supported by the Norwegian Demo 2000 Program and the project's oil company participants: TotalFinaElf, Statoil, Norsk Hydro and BP.

"This installation represents the successful achievement of a four-year program to develop a unique sensor system for the seismic industry and to demonstrate that fiber optic seismic sensors are a superior alternative to conventional electronic devices," said Tad Bostick, Weatherford's vice president of business development.

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