Optoelectronic leak detection system for monitoring subsea structures

摘要

Leak detection and monitoring on subsea structures is an area of increasing interest for the detection and monitoring of production and control fluids for the oil and gas industry. Current techniques such as capacitive (dielectric) based measurement or passive acoustic systems have limitations and we report here an optoelectronic solution based upon fluorescence spectroscopy to provide a permanent monitoring solution.We report here a new class of optoelectronic subsea sensor for permanent, real time monitoring of hydrocarbon production systems. The system is capable of detecting small leaks of production or hydraulic fluid (ppm levels) over distances of 4-5 meters in a subsea environment. Ideally systems designed for such applications should be capable of working at depths of up to 3000m unattended for periods of 20+ years. The system uses advanced single emitter LED technology to meet the challenges of lifetime, power consumption, spatial coverage and delivery of a cost effective solution. The system is designed for permanent deployment on Christmas tree (XT), subsea processing systems (SPS)and associated equipment to provide enhanced leak detection capability.