Apr 12 2010
Satisfied with a previous installation, a Canadian firm has placed a repeat order for the Opsens OPP-W fiber optic based temperature and pressure sensor system.
Opsens Fiber Optics Sensors
These sensors will be installed in five Steam Assisted Gravity Damage (SAGD) producer wells. Opsens Solutions, the Edmonton unit of Opsens, had successfully installed the OPP-W sensor for the firm about 17 months back.
These systems are used during the thermal recovery process for heavy oil or bitumen like the SAGD producer wells. The OPP-W sensor is continually garnering additional interest for reservoir and injection/production well monitoring systems. These systems are for Alberta’s commercial projects. Opsen’s OPP-W sensors are functioning successfully for about two years in SAGD projects where manufacturing or injection temperatures are likely to reach 300°C.
The OPP-W technology offers the SAGD manufacturers with real-time temperature or pressure data that is needed to manage fluid production and steam injection and permit safe operations when steam injection pressures are at their maximum.
Another major energy firm had also placed an order of commercial size to Opsens for instrumenting 26 more wells using the OPP-W sensor system. Opsens Solutions’ President Gaetan Duplain revealed that the customers have tested the OPP-W sensor systems under field conditions to ascertain if they are able to improve the safety and efficiency of SAGD operations.
The vast number of present and proposed SAGD projects offers a huge potential market for Opsens.