Power systems study solutions solving lightning power quality and load limitations problems in the Boscan oil field

Electrical Submersible Pump System Grounding: Current Practice and Future Trend

“…A lightning damage in an oil field power distribution system is given as an example for design and troubleshooting considerations [10].…”

“…With multigrounded neutrals, multiple paths for the lightning to enter the ground are available [5,7]. Reference [10] reports lightning damage to distribution poles for a 24 kV four-wire distribution with an overhead neutral in Boscan oil field. The bolt that connects the steel cross arm to the concrete pole and goes through the center of the pole would be damaged during a lightning storm and could not support the cross arm.…”

“…The bolt that connects the steel cross arm to the concrete pole and goes through the center of the pole would be damaged during a lightning storm and could not support the cross arm. The concrete poles used in the field have an internal ground wire (#4 copper) as the down conductor for the overhead neutral, this internal ground wire is then connected to an external ground wire and ground rod one foot below grade [10].…”

“…To investigate the root cause of such lightning damage, the following factors are considered [10]: 1) Shielding angle: All distribution lines in Boscan field have a shielding angle of 30°, so IEEE standard requirement is met. 2) Ground impedance path: To be effective for lightning protection, a low impedance path to ground should be provided.…”

“…As an example, to improve lightning protection performance, the location change of lightning arresters is recommended in Boscan oil field [10]. The principle of the correction is that the length of the phase lead and ground lead conductors connected to the lightning arrester should be as short as possible.…”