ACTIVE SENSING CABLE AND INTERROGATION SYSTEM FOR SUBSURFACE MAGNETIC FIELD IMAGING

A prevailing approach to monitoring carbon storage sites is to adapt sensing technologies currently utilized in the oil & gas industry to optimize drilling and production. Specifically, taking advantage of traditional electromagnetic techniques to track subsurface carbon dioxide plume movements has been elusive due to an inability to achieve the necessary spatial resolution and signal quality. A compact and readily deployable sensing system that can be left in place permanently, allows for remote time-lapse monitoring, and is capable of the distributed measurements necessary for measurements with high spatial resolution would find immediate application in the commercial and public carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) arenas. The objective of the proposed Phase I program is to design, construct and demonstrate an active fiber optic magnetic sensing capable of monitoring variations in the earths magnetic field along one fiber optic cable. The compact magnetic field sensing cable can be readily deployed and seamlessly integrated with commercial-scale CCUS operations. This unique monitoring system will leverage a commercially available fiber optic technology and a one-of-its kind distributed magnetic field sensing fiber to deliver performance that cannot currently be achieved with any other technology. In this Phase I effort, a small business will collaborate with a research institution to construct and demonstrate the performance of a prototype magnetic field sensing system in a simulated subsurface environment. Numerical modeling and data processing tools will be created to analyze and interpret subsurface phenomena to ensure the system will provide benefit to carbon storage operators. A “systemsapproach” will be employed to optimize the sensing fiber and interrogation system to ensure the seamless integration and enable high performance. If successful, the technology will be implemented with machine learning and artificial intelligence methods for autonomous and CO2 plume movement tracking. A fiber optic sensing fiber capable of distributed magnetic field measurements with high spatial resolution over long distances will find immediate commercial applications in the subsurface monitoring of carbon storage facilities and address needs for subsurface imaging in the oil & gas industry and critical minerals exploration. The proposed technology is truly unique and will provide benefit to the renewable energy sector for monitoring critical electrical power generation and distribution assets and for monitoring and securing critical infrastructure via real-time event detection and structural health monitoring.