Method and apparatus for a tubing conveyed perforating guns fire identification system using fiber optics

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining whether a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun has fired by detecting a change in characteristics of the flow of an oil well. A method and apparatus detects the presence of fluorescent tracer dye to determine whether or not a TCP gun has fired. The method and apparatus detects a change is capacitance, or fiber optic electrical properties to determine whether or not a TCP gun has fired. The method and apparatus detects the number of charges fired to determine whether or not all TCP guns have fired and also provides a method and apparatus for determining the contributions of injection wells to producing wells by introducing fluorescent tracers into injection wells and detecting the presence of the fluorescent tracers at production wells. A method and apparatus is provided for placing fluorescent dye particles in a gravel pack to sense when a gravel pack is deteriorating by detecting the tracer dye particles in the well flow.

1 . A method for detecting detonation of a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun in a wellbore comprising the steps for: 
 (a) placing a sensor in a wellbore;    (b) detonating a TCP charge; and    (c) detecting detonation of the TCP charge.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a tracer module containing a fluorescent tracer dye.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of detecting detonation of the TCP charge in further comprising sensing tracer dye released from the tracer module upon detonation of the TCP charge.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sensor comprises a fibre optic sleeve surrounding a TCP charge string in the wellbore.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of detecting detonating of the TCP charge in further comprising sensing changes in the electrical properties of the fibre optic sleeve upon detonation of the TCP charge.  
   
   
       6 . A method of using a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun in a wellbore comprising: 
 (a) placing an acoustic sensor in a wellbore;    (b) detonating at least one charge on the TCP gun; and    (c) using the acoustic sensor for detecting detonation of the at least one charge.    
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein detecting detonation of the TCP charge further comprises acoustically sensing detonation of the TCP charge.  
   
   
       8 . A method of determining the contribution from a injection well to a producing well comprising the steps for: 
 (a) placing at least one identifiable tracer dye in an injection well, the tracer dye identifier being associated with the injection well; and    (b) detecting the presence of at the at least one identifiable tracer dye at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from the injection well to the producing well.    
   
   
       9 . An apparatus for detecting detonation of a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun in a wellbore comprising: 
 a TCP charge and detonator deployed in the well bore; and    a detonation sensitive device that reacts to the detonation of the TCP charge.    
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the detonation sensitive device comprises a fluorescent tracer dye module that releases the dye upon detonation of the TCP charge, the apparatus further comprising a fluorescent dye detector for sensing release of the fluorescent dye.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the detonation sensitive device comprises a fibre optic sleeve adjacent the TCP charge that changes electrical properties upon detonation of the TCP charge, the apparatus further comprising a sensor for detecting changes in the electrical properties of the fibre optic sleeve upon detonation of the TCP charge.  
   
   
       12 . A system for use in a wellbore comprising: 
 (a) a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) Run conveyed in the wellbore, the TCP gun including at least one charge activated by a detonator; and    (b) an acoustic sensor that senses to detonation of the at least one charge.    
   
   
       13 . A apparatus for determining the contribution from a injection well to a producing well comprising: 
 (a) an injector for injecting an identifiable tracer dye into an injection well, the tracer dye identifier being associated with the injection well; and    (b) detecting the presence of at the identifiable tracer dye at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from the injection well to the producing well.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising transmitting a signal indicative of the detection to a surface location  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 7  wherein detonating the at least one charge further comprises detonating a plurality of charges.  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 12  further comprising a device for transmitting a signal indicative of the sensing of the detonation to a surface location.  
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the at least one charge further comprises a plurality of charges.