Baker Hughes has today announced three technology innovations designed to enhance the operating range and reliability of electrical submersible pumping (ESP) systems and to reduce operating expenses associated with ESPs. A new pump design, a “smart” variable speed drive (VSD), and power monitoring capabilities give oil and gas companies a range of options to optimize production and well economics.
The Centrilift FlexPump ESP design covers a wider operating range and delivers higher efficiencies in challenging downhole applications, including wells producing gas-laden or solids-laden fluids. Patent-pending thrust balancing technology in the pump stage diffuser expands the FlexPump operating range by acting as a relief valve for high-pressure applications—forcing the impeller into downthrust at higher flow rates to decrease upthrust wear. Twenty-five percent wider openings in the mixed-flow FlexPump than in radial type pumps, combined with an optimized fluid flow path, improve ESP reliability by reducing gas locking conditions and pump plugging due to sand, debris, scale or paraffin entrained in the fluid.
The Centrilift Electrospeed Advantage next-generation VSD, designed specifically for ESP systems, features a “smart” software suite to constantly monitor the downhole ESP system and automatically make adjustments to its operating parameters to improve uptime, efficiency, and reliability. The new design also includes seamless integration with Baker Hughes’ Vision™ monitoring and automation services as well as downhole sensors.
The Centrilift PowerMonitor module further enhances ESP system efficiency to lower producers’ power costs and maximize system run life. The PowerMonitor module is installed on the input to the VSD and provides critical information on the quantity and quality of the power supply. The PowerMonitor device achieves better than 99 percent accuracy for measurements such as line voltage, phase voltage / current, and harmonics. The data is then used to optimize ESP system operating parameters to lower power costs—the largest cost associated with artificial lift.
“These technology advancements are designed to expand the technical capabilities of ESP systems to enhance production and, at the same time, optimize costs associated with artificial lift,” says Neil Harrop, president of completions and production for Baker Hughes. “As the industry-leading artificial lift provider, we continue to push the technology boundaries to help improve overall reserve recovery in oil fields around the world.”
