Trials of VSD Electrical Signature Analysis Technology for ESP Vibration in High Dog Leg Severity Wells at Surmont

Abstract

ESPs operating in high dog leg severity (DLS) wells are prone to bending loads and vibration levels that may contribute to early failure modes such as shorted motor stators, rotor strikes and shaft breaks. Electrical signature analysis (ESA) has recently shown potential to identify the operating state of an ESP by analyzing high frequency data (current and voltage) captured at the variable speed drive (VSD). This paper shows how ESA helped identify the vibration under bending state on three ESPs installed sequentially in a well where the two previous ESP installs had failed prematurely. The premature failures occurred at a high DLS pump setting depth due to rotor strikes under bending. ESA contributed to an enhanced understanding of the operating conditions of ESPs and, in conjunction with other changes (such as ESP length, pump setting depth and operating frequency), helped to significantly extend the runtime of ESPs in this challenging well.