Fisheye Lens helps improve borehole inspection

Visual inspection using downhole camera and video are important tools to drillers and borehole maintenance engineers. Such inspection systems are key to determining the condition of a well or borehole as well as the nature and extent of any problems. Using camera or video inspection technology to undertake surveys pre and post treatment are a key component of any maintenance programme as they allow operators to understand the specific areas in a well that may require attention and confirm the effectiveness of the treatment carried out. Inspection surveys also provide a valuable benchmark in the history of the well and its rehabilitation.

Recently we delivered the first batch of M12 fisheye lenses to a leading visual analytics company for their new array camera optimised for borehole inspection applications. These specialist lenses were custom designed to extend the capabilities of the array camera, to provide a continuous, 360° view of the internal diameter of a wellbore. The robust lens was optimised to give excellent short distance imaging clarity, a large (186⁰) field-of-view and optical correction for the curvature of the pipe. The clients’ camera features an array of four pre-aligned, high-definition video devices, that together with four application optimised fisheye imaging lenses, uniquely enable the creation of a vivid, 360° dynamic map of well condition and behaviour from the lubricator to the toe of the well in a single, continuous run-in hole. The unique design of the array camera captures four high definition, high frame-rate video feeds and combines them to create an infinitely long, continuous image of the well, significantly reducing the time for data acquisition and increasing the mechanical reliability of the system.