Sensors Development for Oilfield Applications

Research Program Manager
Schlumberger Doll Research
Richfield, CT
ABSTRACT:
Discovery, appraisal and production of oil resources have required over the years, the development of dedicated sensing techniques. Because oilfield is a harsh and remote environment, the selection and the implementation of these techniques have not solely been governed by their sensitivity to the relevant parameters. Coping with high pressure, high temperature, vibration, shocks, and cumbersome geometry have also been determinant factors in Schlumberger product development.
Traditionally, oilfield measurements were not performed over long durations so that obstructing production pipes for a limited period, and running large electrical cables were not an issue. In recent years, the industry is requiring more and more permanent monitoring either to increase the productivity or to enable deep sea field development. Schlumberger has initiated an effort several years ago in utilizing the principles of microelectromechanical systems and fiber optics to develop sensors appropriate for permanent monitoring and control in harsh oilfield conditions. In this framework, the limitation in real estate, power resources, and the means of telemetry for the sensors have became new challenges. These issues, along with our effort in research to address them, will be discussed in this talk.

BIO:
Philippe Salamitou is currently Research program Manager at Schlumberger Doll Research, Ridgefield CT.
He received a degree in Physics from Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Universite Paris VI. In 1995-1996, he held a postdoctoral position at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Weather Sensing Group, working on signal processing for wind Doppler Lidar applied to wake vortex detection. In 1997, he joined Schlumberger in Clamart France, where he works, first as a project scientist, then as a program manager, at developing a multiphase flowmeter for oilfield applications.
Since 2001, Philippe is Research Program Manager for the Novel Sensors Program. This program aims at developing a new generation of Oilfield sensors, in particular, based on microfabrication technologies.

BIO:
Olivier Vancauwenberghe is currently a Senior Research Scientist in the Novel Sensors Program at Schlumberger Doll Research in Ridgefield CT, USA.
He received in1987 his Engineering/M.S. degree in Materials Science and Microelectronics from UCL, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, and in 1991 his Ph.D. in Electronic Materials from MIT, Cambridge MA, USA. In 1992, he held a Post-doctoral position in the Silicon research Laboratory of AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ, USA.
From 1993 to 2001, he was a faculty Professor at ESIEE, Noisy-le-Grand, France, in Physics, Microelectronics and Microsystems. His research there focused on the physics and technology of new silicon-based sensors and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), mostly under industrial contracts.
By joining Schlumberger in 2001, he brought to SDR his expertise in microsensor physics, modeling, and fabrication technology, for the development of specific MEMS for oilfield applications in harsh environment, including absolute and differential pressure sensor, fluid property sensor, inertial MEMS (inclinometer, accelerometer, geophones) and resonant microsensors.