Leveraging Sensorless Technology for Enhanced Electric Submersible Pump Monitoring

In the oil & gas industry, the importance of reliable electric submersible pump (ESP) monitoring cannot be overstated. These pumps operate under extreme conditions, several kilometers beneath the earth's surface, to extract oil from deep wells. The operating conditions are harsh: high temperatures, extreme pressures, and the presence of abrasive materials accelerate wear and tear, typically limiting a pump's lifespan to between 3 and 5 years.

Traditionally, operators have relied on downhole sensors to monitor critical conditions such as pressure, temperature, and vibration. However, these sensors often fail within months due to the same harsh conditions, significantly reducing visibility into pump performance and health for the majority of its operational life.

Enter SAM4, a sensorless monitoring solution that utilizes Electrical Signature Analysis (ESA) to offer a revolutionary approach to ESP monitoring. By collecting data from the motor control cabinet—far removed from the extreme conditions of the well—SAM4 ensures uninterrupted insights throughout the pump's operational life. This not only extends the useful life of the pump but also enhances operational efficiency by providing critical data that traditional sensors cannot, once they fail.

Key Insights from Field Trials:

• Electrical, Motor, and Power Cable Faults: SAM4 excels in identifying the most common ESP failure modes, including electrical faults and issues in the motor and connecting cables, by analyzing high-frequency electrical data. This capability is crucial as these faults are often the root causes of ESP failures. In addition, traditional monitoring tools often fall short in detection precisely these type of faults at an early stage.?
• Mechanical Faults Detection: While SAM4's proficiency in identifying mechanical faults has not been explicitly confirmed through these trials, a comprehensive review of nine years of operational data across diverse industries hints at its potential. This extensive experience, combined with an analysis of data quality, indicates SAM4's capacity to detect a range of mechanical issues affecting motors, transmissions, and pumps. Nevertheless, due to the infrequent occurrence of these faults, the trial's scope did not permit a direct validation of this capability.

Why SAM4 Stands Out:

• Non-Intrusive Monitoring: SAM4's ESA-based method is entirely non-intrusive, requiring no physical sensors on or near the pump itself. This eliminates the risk of sensor failure due to downhole conditions and ensures a steady flow of insights throughout the lifetime of the ESP.
• Cost-Effective Solution: The cost of implementing SAM4, starting at roughly $5K annual costs, is a fraction of the costs of traditional monitoring systems, offering significant financial and operational advantages.

Development roadmap:

• Performance Insights: SAM4 currently provides foundational performance metrics, including running hours and start-stop events, available for immediate use. The development of the pump performance curve, a key feature representing the operational efficiency against the optimal efficiency point—viewed as the pinnacle of ESP monitoring—is underway but not yet completed. This advanced metric's accuracy is contingent on the availability of stable or accurately known fluid characteristics, necessitating further integration of data, for which development efforts have begun.

Conclusion:

The combination of SAM4's innovative sensorless technology, its capability to monitor both electrical and mechanical faults, and its additional performance insights make it an invaluable addition to any ESP monitoring setup. Its non-intrusive nature, coupled with the financial and operational efficiencies it offers, positions SAM4 as a critical component in the modern oil & gas industry's toolkit.

For operators seeking to enhance the reliability, efficiency, and lifespan of their ESPs, incorporating SAM4 into their monitoring strategies is not just an option—it's a strategic imperative.