1. 1
Intelligent Casing-Intelligent Formation
Telemetry (ICIFT) System
10121-4504-01
Dr. Harold Stalford
University of Oklahoma
RPSEA Ultra-Deepwater Drilling, Completions, and Interventions TAC Meeting
June 4, 2014
Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council Board Room,
Sugar Land, TX
rpsea.org

2. 2
Acknowledgement
We would like to offer our sincere thanks to the
Department of Energy, RPSEA, Drill Right
Technology, and the Ultra-Deepwater committee
members for providing the University of Oklahoma
with this opportunity to develop the Intelligent
Casing-Intelligent Formation Telemetry (ICIFT)
System

3. 3
Project Participants
 Principal Investigators:
• Dr. Harold Stalford, Professor of AME, OU
• Dr. Ramadan Ahmed, Assistant Professor of PE, OU
 Industrial Professional:
• Darrell Husted, CEO/President, Drill Right Technology, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
 Research Assistants:
• Jason Edwards, AME, OU
• Victor Hugo Soriano Arambulo, PE, OU
• Mounraj Sharma, PE, OU
• Jeremy Friesenhahn, EE & CE, OU
• Ryan Bott, CS, OU
• Michael Nash, AME, OU

4. 4
Overall Objective ICIFT System
Intelligent Casing/Intelligent Formation Telemetry
• Enhance downhole data gathering from points external to the casing
• Allow much more reservoir data to be transmitted
• Allow real-time data transmission during cementing of prod. casing
• Prevent loss of well control incident by early identification

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Main Objective: ICIFT System
 RFID & Wireless Sensor Telemetry Technologies
 Pressure, Temperature, Flow Sensor Data
 Integration of Technologies in Prototype Development
 Laboratory Testing & Evaluation of RF Signals Transmission
through Cement, Rock Formations, Fluids

6. 6
Outline
o Literature Survey & Background Studies
o Assess. of Borehole Telemetry System Comp.
o Design and Development of RFID Sensor & Transceiver
Prototypes
o Laboratory Testing of Prototypes & Telemetry Network
o Communication of Sensor Data to Surface
o Conclusions & Technology Transfer

7. 7
Literature Survey and Background
Studies
 Concept/Principles of Intelligent System
 Fiber Optic Sensing (Real-Time, Distributive)
 Instrumented Casing (History and Technology)
 Borehole Telemetry (Data Transmission: Capabilities and
Reliability)
 Sensor technologies (Measurements: Wired and Wireless)

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Principles of Intelligent System
 P1: Permanent Downhole Components (life of well)
 P2: Wells Remotely Monitored & Controlled from Surface; Zonal
Isolation & Multi-Zone Deployments
 P3: Provide Real-Time Data
 P4: Optimize Production, Increase Ultimate Reservoir Recovery,
Reduce Overall Costs, Accelerate Cash Flow, Maximize Net Present
Value (NPV)
 P5: Reduce Physical Interventions, Provide Well Integrity
Monitoring, Improve HSE Issues

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Telemetry Systems
 Wired Telemetry Systems
 Wireline System
 Wired Drill Pipe Telemetry System
 Fiber Optic System
 Non Wired Telemetry
 Mud Pulse Telemetry
 Electromagnetic Telemetry
 Acoustic Telemetry

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Monitoring Systems: Components & Failures
(Permanent Downhole Sensors)
o Electronic gauges (20% failures)
o Gauge mandrels
o Connectors (50% failures)
o Cables (25% without being splice free)
o Acquisition system
o Interpretation software
o Power supply

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Factors to Consider
(Permanent Downhole Sensors)
o Minimize: downhole electronics
o Minimize: number of parts
o Minimize: number of moving parts
o Use appropriate coatings, packaging technology, & housing
o Consider non-electronic sensors (i.e., fiber optic)
o Consider “right” mix (electronic, fiber optic, electrode array)
o Consider materials for HT/HP UDW applications (e.g., quartz, fiber optic,
etc.)
o Consider fiber optic sensor issues:
- must be appropriately coated and protected (otherwise, ingression of
OH- molecules into fiber)
- drifting (changes of zero offset)

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Fiber‐Optic Distributive Sensing
 Distributive sensing, permanent well monitoring
 High-bandwidth, Low-loss transmission medium
 High information transmission rates (1x1012 b/s)
 No downhole electronics, immune EM radiation
 Installation any length
 Flexible configurations, greater sensitivity
 Very thin (e.g., human hair), Cheap (relatively)
Slide 12

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Fiber-Optic DTS Deployed Outside
Casing
Over 70 wells with DTS permanent installations:
- Successfully tested, proved and applied DTS technology for
monitoring injection profile in major onshore waterflood
All challenges met with 100% success:
- Fiber deployed outside casing, cemented in place
without creating a micro-annulus
- Permitted perforations for completion without fiber damage
- Control line and fiber pulled through wellhead mandrel
- Fiber not damaged: rig move-out, well-head installation, etc.
- Integrated into lean manufacturing style of drilling
- Cheap enough for “low-cost” 20 BOPD environment
2013 SPE 163694 Rahman, et al., Aera Energy LLC

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Fiber-Optic Distributive Sensing
Distributive Sensing: DTS, DSS, DPS, DAS, DCS
Applications: Monitoring & Profiling:
Hydraulic fracture, well integrity, vertical seismic (VSP),
gas-lift optimization, flow, sand
Coming Soon: Gas breakthrough, ESP, Micro-seismic,
Multi-phase

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Wireless RFID Passive SAW Sensors
o Temperature, Pressure, etc.
o Low Power
o Ultra Small Size ( 1 mm diameters)
o HT Ranges
o Piezoelectric Material

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RFID SAW Sensors
 Passive (no battery needed)
 Operates in Liquid and Metal Environment
 Wide Temperature Range (exceeds 300C)
 Micro-second delays avoids clutter returns
 Robustness to Gamma Ray exposure
 Sensors include Temperature, Pressure, etc.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW)

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Literature Survey & Background Studies
 Review: instrumented casing and borehole telemetry
 Review: passive wireless SAW sensors that can measure
pressure, temperature etc. lifetime of producing wells
 Review: Instrumentation techniques that have potential to provide
distributed real-time/continuous pressure, temperature and flow
measurements
 Integrated RFID sensor technology and application to borehole
telemetry
 Power supply options for RFID based ICIFT system
 RF signal transmission in rock formation

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Assessment of Borehole Telemetry
System Components
Wired Telemetry systems
Wireline System (100-500 Kb/s)
Allow simultaneous measurements of formation properties
Drilling assemblies must be pulled out of the borehole
Measurement from different formations, but not in real drilling time
Wired Drill Pipe Telemetry System (50-500 Kb/s)
A real time drill string telemetry network
Allow a two-way data communication at 57000 bits/s
Has reliability comparable with mud pulse system
Fiber Optic System (10-100 Mb/s)
A distributive telemetry method using optical fibers
The fiber serves as both sensor and telemetry channel
Is comparable with electronic sensors in terms of performance, cost and simplicity of
operation.

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Assessment of Borehole Telemetry
System Components
Non Wired Telemetry
Mud Pulse Telemetry (1.5-40 b/s)
Most reliable and widely used telemetry method.
Operates under harsh environments (20,000 psi and over 350°F).
Data transfer rate is limited 12 bit/s
Works with incompressible fluids
Electromagnetic Telemetry (10-100 b/s)
System uses the drill string as a dipole electrode.
Higher data transfer rate
Applicable in shallow wells
Works with both compressible and incompressible
Acoustic Telemetry (10-30 b/s)
Data is acoustically transmitted using the drill string
System offers some degree of reliability for data transmission
High level of noise due to drilling operations must be overcome
Methods require the use of repeaters, depending on the well depth

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Assessment of Borehole Telemetry
System Components
 Telemetry System Components
 Sensors,
 Data processing
 Transmission systems
 Power supply
 Relevant borehole conditions
 Depths, Temperatures, Pressures
 Borehole drilling and completion fluids
 Borehole formations
 Performance Assessment
 Reliability,
 Power requirements,
 Data rates, Size requirements
 Costs

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Assessment of Borehole Telemetry
System Components (cont.)
 Evaluate different techniques
 Effectively place sensors at different depths of the well
 Reliably transfer real-time data to the surface
 Provide power to the system
 Identify preferences (benefits & drawbacks)
 Deployment techniques
 Data transmission methods to surface
 Power transmission options
 Issues with wellbore and tree integrity
 Preliminary well design
 Telemetry system components
 Sensor embedding procedures
 Reliable data transfer techniques
 Power supply systems

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Design/Development of RFID (Wireless)
Sensor/Transceiver Prototypes
RFID Wireless Sensing Technology
• RFID SAW Passive Sensors
• Temperature & Pressure
• RF telemetry through cement & formation media
• RF telemetry through borehole fluids1
1RF through salt water (ocean):
5-10 MHz - 90 m - 500 Kbps
Design and develop RFID Sensor Telemetry prototypes
• Handle rock formations, and drilling and completion fluids
• Measure flow, pressure, and temperature sensors
• Permits high data rates at sufficient distances

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Rock FT-IR and Resistivity Analyses
o FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy) analysis
23
22 Rock Samples
Claystone
Limestone
Sandstone

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Experimental Results
Wireless SAW Sensor
Passive (no battery)
434 MHz
US Dime
Air 120
Limestone >24
Sandstone >24
Claystone >24
Concrete >24
Water 16.5
Passive Wireless SAW Sensor (Pressure &Temperature)
R S
Reader (very low power)
4mW
Media
Range (inches)Media
Measurements at 4mW Power Reader
Sensor: Temperature & Pressure
Range
Telemetry of Pressure
& Temperature Data

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Design/Development of RFID (Wireless)
Sensor/Transceiver Prototypes
 Prototype designs based on state-of-the-art technology :
• Sensors (RFID, SAW-based, Fiber optic-based)
 Temperature &Pressure SAW sensors
• Power supply (low power considered)
 4mW
• Rock formations & Fluids (drilling/completion)
 Cement, limestone, sandstone, water
• Wireless EM transmission frequencies
 434MHz, 2.4 GHz
Experimental Results Good Match with Simulation Modeling

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Laboratory Testing of Prototypes and Telemetry
Network
Laboratory Testing of Sensor and Transceiver Prototypes
Laboratory Testing of Telemetry Network
• Test sequence of multiple prototypes
• Test rock formation/borehole fluids combo; test bidirectional
capability
• Evaluate overall performance of the telemetry network

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Laboratory Testing of
Sensor/Transceiver Prototypes
 Test and evaluate the performance of integrated components
 Passive wireless SAW sensors (T & P)
• Vary the type of obstruction (rock and formation fluids)
 Cement, limestone, sandstone, & water
• Attenuation of RF signal study
 Attenuation data good match with model
Experimental Results Good Match with Simulation Modeling

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Laboratory Testing of Telemetry Network
 Lab test RF 2-way telemetry of prototype network
 RF 2-way wireless telemetry between 3 nodes of a preliminary
prototype network
• Rock formations
 Cement, sandstone, limestone
• Borehole fluids
 Water
 Conducted preliminary tests in fiber optic based network system
components
Experimental Results Good Match with Simulation Modeling

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Prototype ICIFT System (iBITS)
(under development)
Two-way communication
between
surface command and UDW
wellbore elements
(continuous, real-time,
high data rate)

30. 30
ICIFT Systems Prototype Network
Central
Data Center
Station 3
3000 ft. FO cable 3000 ft. FO cable
SAW RFID Sensors
Station 2Station 1
• Temperature
• Pressure
Wireless Telemetry Wireless Telemetry Wireless Telemetry
SAW RFID Sensors SAW RFID Sensors
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Temperature
• Pressure

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Feedthroughs for Fiber-Optic Sensing?
On-Shore:
Tubing Annulus: Feed-throughs are standard
Casing Annulus: Feed-throughs are in use
Off-Shore:
Tubing Annulus: Feed-throughs are in practice
Casing Annulus: Feed-throughs are in debate

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Feedthrough Issues Subsea Wellhead
Fiber-Optic Sensing: Off-Shore
Issues-Feedthrough in Casing Annulus:
Sensors are needed in annulus to measure conditions (T, P, flow, etc.)
What if significant temperature & pressure differences start to occur
What if wellhead sensors in annulus stop working before lifetime of well
What if HP methane leak begins in feedthrough
What if no one knows what is in annulus behind the feedthrough
What if feedthrough in annulus creates well intervention
What if a leak develops in a feedthrough
What if…
What if…

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Options: ICIFT System
Sensor (Discrete/Distributive)
Communication
Wired/Wired
Wireless/Wireless
Wired/Wireless
Wireless/Wired
Copper
FO
EM
Acoustic
EM (RFID)
Acoustic
PDGs
Fiber Optics (FO)

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Communication From Casing Annulus
A Starting Position
1. Use only Carbon Steel Casing (magnetic)
2. Do not cut a hole in the casing
At wellhead…downhole…in reservoir

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Communication Methods: No Holes
& Through Steel Casing
1. Carbon Steel Casing (magnetic)
o Ultrasonic-Based Wireless
2. Steel Casing (non-magnetic)
o EM-Based Wireless
Sensor Data from Reservoir
Sensor Data to Annulus A
PT

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Slide 36
1Lawry et al. (2013). A High‐Performance Ultrasonic System for the Simultaneous Transmission of Data and
Power Through Solid Metal Barriers, IEEE Trans. on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, vol. 60,
No. 1, January 2013.
Ultrasonic-Based Wireless Wellhead
Concept
Ultrasonic Method: Communicate through carbon steel casing at wellhead
Transducers: Piezoelectric
High-power: 50 Watts ac
High-Data Trans. Rate:
Over 15 Mbps through
63.5 mm Steel barriers
Cross-section of the acoustic-electric channel (courtesy of Lawry et al., 20131)

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Slide 37
Non‐Mag‐Based Wireless Wellhead Concept
Provides telemetry from regions
outside production casing
ƚBenton Baugh (2013), “Method of
non-intrusive Communication of Down
Hole Annulus Information,”
U.S. Patent Application.
[Drawing: courtesy of Dr. Baugh]

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Communications at Wellhead
1. Carbon Steel Casing (magnetic)
Ultrasonic-Based Wireless
2. Steel Casing (non-magnetic)
EM-Based Wireless
3. Feed-Throughs
Wired (e.g., Fiber optics)
4. Bypass Wellhead
EM-Based Wireless
PT
Sensor Data from Reservoir
Sensor Data to Surface
No Hole
No Hole
Hole
No Hole
Bypass

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Slide 39
Feed-Throughs in Wellhead Concept
Casing Wellhead Feed-Throughs
(mod in casing hangers)

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Intelligent Formation Concept
(bypasses wellhead)
EM Wireless System
Outside Casing/Formation-Based
• EM (e.g., 10 MHz)
• Requires power

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Communications Reservoir Cross-over
 EM-Based Wireless Link
 Casing to Tubing Link
 Special Casing Sub
41
Sensor Data from Reservoir
Sensor Data to Surface
PT

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Production Casing: EM-Based Wireless Design
Special Casing Sub (Concept)
EM Wireless Communication
Requirements: Supersedes sub-sea standards of prod. casing
Annulus Clearance <2’’
EM Frequencies:10 MHz
External Data Transmitted:
Fiber-optic sensors,
RFID SAW, etc.
Production Casing Integrity not adversely affected
42

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ICIFT Systems
o Intelligent well technology outside casing/in cement/formation
o Wireless RFID SAW sensing
o Wired distributive sensing
o Configure best of wired and wireless combinations for UDW
- in casing, on casing surface; in cement, in formation
- wired sensors ; wireless sensors
- passive sensors (no batteries); active sensors (batteries)
- distributive sensors; discrete sensors

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ICIFT System (Cont.)
Config. 1: Wellhead Feed-Throughs
o Wellhead feed-throughs allow for fiber-optic, power and
communication cables
o Fiber-optics distributive sensors deployed outside casing (all
FO electronics/processing done external to well)
o Wireless sensors (RFID passive) deployed outside casing in
cement, in formation (downhole readers require power and
electronics)
o Wired sensors (e.g., quartz) deployed along casing external
surface require power and electronics
o Communications system- data telemetry to surface -required
for downhole discrete sensors
o Wellhead feed-throughs must be secured against leaks

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ICIFT System (Cont.)
Config. 2: Wellhead Acoustic-Based Passage
o Requires no holes in carbon steel casing at wellhead
o Ultrasonic piezoelectric-based systems provide high power
and high data rates through carbon steel casing walls
o Downhole fiber-optics distributive sensors deployed outside
casing (requires downhole electronics/processing)
o Wireless sensors (RFID passive) deployed outside casing in
cement, in formation (downhole readers require power and
electronics)
o Wired sensors (e.g., quartz) deployed along casing external
surface require power and electronics
o Communications system- data telemetry to surface -required
for all downhole sensors

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ICIFT System (Cont.)
Config. 3: Wellhead EM-Based Passage
o Requires non-magnetic casing at wellhead (but no holes)
o EM-based systems provide high power and high data rates
through non-magnetic casing walls
o Downhole fiber-optics distributive sensors deployed outside
casing (requires downhole electronics/processing)
o Wireless sensors (RFID passive) deployed outside casing in
cement, in formation (downhole readers require power and
electronics)
o Wired sensors (e.g., quartz) deployed along casing external
surface require power and electronics
o Communications system- data telemetry to surface -required
for all downhole sensors

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ICIFT System (Cont.)
Config. 4: Reservoir-Based Passage
o Passage occurs below packer in reservoir near perforations
region (holes in carbon steel casing are permitted there)
o Special casing sub with EM-based systems provides high
power and high data rates
o Downhole fiber-optics distributive sensors deployed outside
casing (requires downhole electronics/processing)
o Wireless sensors (RFID passive) deployed outside casing in
cement, in formation (downhole readers require power and
electronics)
o Wired sensors (e.g., quartz) deployed along casing external
surface require power and electronics
o Data telemetry to surface uses annulus between casing and
production tubing

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ICIFT System (Cont.)
Config. 5: Intelligent Formation EM-Based
o Wireless EM-based communications through formations to
surface (bypasses wellhead)
o Requires sequence of wireless communication “towers”
outside casing from downhole to surface
o Downhole fiber-optics distributive sensors deployed outside
casing (requires downhole electronics/processing)
o Wireless sensors (RFID passive) deployed outside casing in
cement, in formation (downhole readers require power and
electronics)
o Wired sensors (e.g., quartz) deployed along casing external
surface require power and electronics

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Conclusions: ICIFT System
o Wireless/wired, discrete/distributive sensors outside casing
o Communication systems (telemetry to surface)
- Fiber-optics feed-throughs in wellhead
- Ultrasonic
- passive sensors (no batteries); active sensors (batteries)
- distributive sensors; discrete sensors
o Wired distributive sensing
o Configure best of wired and wireless combinations for UDW
(configuration examples 1-5)

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Technology Transfer Activities
Reports:
Literature Survey & Background Studies
Assessment of Borehole Telemetry System Components
Design/Development: RFID Sensor & Transceiver Prototypes
Conference Presentations and Paper:
 Intelligent Casing Design – ABC, Nov. 2013, Houston
 Intelligent Casing-Intelligent Formation (ICIF) Design, OTC, May 2014
 Intelligent Casing-Intelligent Formation (ICIF) Design, OTC25161-MS
Disclosure: The Intelligent Borehole Intranet Telemetry System (iBITS)

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THANK YOU

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Contacts
PI: Dr. Harold Stalford, Professor
School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
University of Oklahoma
Stalford@OU.edu
(405) 325-1742