Subsea Optical Fiber Testing

Optical Fibers (OFs) are ideally suited for subsea applications for several reasons: they have multiplexing/mesh network capability, they are immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI), they have little signal loss over extremely long distances, and they are intrinsically small, light and corrosion resistant.

They are increasingly used to communicate with subsea production systems and in-well equipment, such as christmas tree and manifold control modules, wellhead pressure & temperature transmitters or downhole gauges. They are also frequently used as means of communication between different platforms offshore, or from offshore to onshore as more and more unmanned platforms are now installed and remotely controlled from the coast.

Beyond point-to-point applications, optical fibers are also increasingly used for the continuous, real time monitoring of temperature and strain along pipelines and risers. Indeed, multiple OF sensors can be distributed along a single OF enabling the close condition and integrity monitoring of pipelines and risers over their full length.

We have built up significant experience in the testing and advanced analysis and reporting of subsea optical fibers using Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR). Our OTDR techniques enable us to check the performance of installed OFs, and to localise and charaterise the nature of any anomaly over several hundreds of kilometers.

When necessary, we also provide in-field OF repair services and post repair recertification.