Systems and methods to utilize a sensor to provide spatial resolution in downhole leak detection

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include leak detection systems and methods of downhole leak detection. In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining physical signals detected by a physical sensor over a period of time while the physical sensor is traveling along a wellbore, wherein the physical signals are acoustic signals of a leak. The method also includes performing a sequence extraction operation on the physical signals of the physical sensor to obtain a plurality of virtual signals associated with an array of virtual sensors, wherein each virtual sensor of the array of virtual sensors is located at a respective virtual distance relative to the physical sensor. The method further includes determining a signal strength of the plurality of virtual signals. The method further includes determining a location of the leak based on the signal strength of the plurality of virtual signals.