Pulsed deployment of a cable through a conduit located in a well

Abstract

A system and method for deployment of a cable, such as a fiber optic cable, through a conduit located in a well. A fluid is pulsed through the conduit, which pulse intermittently forces the cable to pass through the conduit. The cable may include at least one measurement location to measure a parameter of interest within the well. The fluid pulsing technique may also be used to deploy the cable in a conduit adapted to be located in other locations.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for deploying at least one cable into a conduit located within a well, comprising: 
 deploying a conduit within a well;    providing at least one cable;    passing at least portions of the at least one cable along the conduit; and    pulsing a fluid along the conduit to intermittently force the at least one cable along the conduit.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises a liquid.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises a gas.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, air, or a gas from the family of inert gases.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises a combination of a fluid and a gas.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cable is a fiber optic cable.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring at least one parameter of interest within the well by use of the at least one cable.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the measuring step comprises providing the at least one cable with at least one measurement location along its length.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the measuring step comprises providing the at least one cable with a plurality of measurement locations distributed along its length.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the parameter of interest measured is selected from the group consisting of temperature, distributed temperature, pressure, acoustic energy, electric current, magnetic field, electric field, flow, chemical properties, or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pulsing step comprises pulsing the fluid at a lower pressure and then at a higher pressure.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising cleaning the interior of the conduit prior to passing the at least one cable through the conduit.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising drying the interior of the conduit prior to passing the at least one cable through the conduit.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising removing non-miscible fluids prior to pasting the least one cable through the conduit.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising passing a solvent through the conduit prior to passing the at least one cable through the conduit.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising, prior to the passing the solvent step, purging any liquid present in the interior of the conduit by passing a gas through the conduit.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising letting the solvent stand in the conduit for an amount of time.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising purging the solvent from the conduit by passing a gas through the conduit.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, subsequent to the pulsing step, venting the pressure found within the conduit.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, subsequent to the pulsing step, maintaining the interior of the conduit at an elevated pressure.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the elevated pressure is higher than the pressure external to the conduit.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein a different fluid is used during the pulsing step than during the maintaining step.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pulsing step occurs after the deploying step.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pulsing step occurs prior to the deploying step.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising maintaining the interior of the conduit at an elevated pressure at least during the deploying step.  
     
     
         26 . A system used to deploy a cable into a conduit located within a well, comprising: 
 a conduit adapted to be located within a well;    at least one cable adapted to be disposed within the conduit; and    an installation unit connected to the conduit and including a fluid unit for pulsing a fluid along the conduit to intermittently force the at least one cable along the conduit.    
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the fluid comprises a liquid.  
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the fluid comprises a gas.  
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, air, or a gas from the family of inert gases.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the fluid comprises a combination of gas and liquid.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one cable is a fiber optic cable.  
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one cable is adapted to measure at least one parameter of interest within the well.  
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the at least one cable includes at least one parameter measurement location along its length.  
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one cable includes a plurality of parameter measurement locations distributed along its length.  
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the parameter of interest measured is selected from the group consisting of temperature, distributed temperature, pressure, acoustic energy, electric current, magnetic field, electric field, flow, chemical properties, or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 32 , further comprising an interrogation unit in communication with the at least one cable for receiving signals representative of the measured parameter.  
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the conduit has a U-shape so that a return line extends from the well to the exterior of the well.  
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein pressure in the conduit is vented after the at least one cable is deployed in the conduit.  
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the fluid pulse is at a lower pressure and then at a higher pressure.  
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein a solvent is deployed within the conduit prior to the fluid being pulsed through the conduit.  
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the conduit is cleaned prior to the at least one cable being disposed in the conduit.  
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the conduit is dried prior to the at least one cable being disposed in the conduit.  
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein non-miscible fluids are removed from the conduit prior to the at least one cable being disposed in the conduit.  
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the interior of the conduit is maintained at an elevated pressure.  
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the elevated pressure is higher than the pressure external to the conduit.  
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein a different fluid is used for pulsing than for maintaining an elevated pressure.  
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one cable is forced along the conduit when the conduit is located in the well.  
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one cable is forced along the conduit prior to the conduit being located in the well.  
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 48 , wherein the interior of the conduit is maintained at an elevated pressure at least as the conduit is being located in the well.  
     
     
         50 . A method for deploying at least one cable into a conduit, comprising: 
 providing at least one cable and a conduit;    passing at least portions of the at least one cable along the conduit to a remote location;    pulsing a fluid along the conduit to intermittently force the at least one cable along the conduit; and    measuring at least one parameter of interest at the remote location by use of the least one cable.    
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the remote location comprises a pipeline.  
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the remote location comprises a tunnel.  
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the remote location comprises a power line.  
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the fluid is selected from a fluid, a gas, or a combination thereof.