Avo Photonics and Weatherford International have designed a downhole multichannel photometer. The sensor has now completed several field trials and is being volume manufactured by Avo Photonics for Weatherford commercial deployment, according to a news release.

The Reservoir Fluid Analyzer sensor conforms to a 4.5-in diameter space performing downhole fluid analysis up to 5 km (3 miles) below the earth's surface. The sensor design allows the device to perform photometric analysis while withstanding operating temperatures from -20 to 177°C with total differential pressures up to 30,000 psi.