In-well monitoring can improve the quality of surveillance in subsea wells, enabling low-cost, nonintrusive well and reservoir surveillance, provided that the industry overcomes the technical challenges and gaps and improves the reliability of the system. However, significant challenges remain in the selection, qualification, and deployment of these technologies in deepwater subsea wells. This paper provides an operator’s viewpoint of in-well monitoring, covering some of the key challenges.
Defining Monitoring-System Value
The interest in downhole monitoring has been well-documented, and much effort and money have been spent to obtain such information as needed to evaluate reservoir potential, optimize operations and production, and manage cost and risk. The primary measurement historically has been single-point downhole pressure and temperature.
