Electrical Submersible Pump

(ESP)
Operation & Trouble Shooting

PTP- 6.2

Table of Contents

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 Page

Number

1. Recording Ammeter 03

2. Motor Controllers - General 03

2.1. Motor Basics 03

2.2. Voltage Damage 03

2.3. Heat Damage 03

2.4. Overcurrent Damage 04

2.5. Controller Basic 04

04

3.0 ESP OPERATION 06

3.1. Operational Features 06

3.2. ESP Start-up 06

4. TROUBLE SHOOTING 07

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ESP Operation and Trouble Shooting
RECORDING AMMETER

The recording ammeter should operate on an AC current range 0 - 5 amps with

an accuracy of plus or minus 1 % on the top 80 %, and plus or minus 2 % on
the bottom 20 % of the scale. With a current range of 0 - 5 amps, current
transformers must be employed in the switchboard circuit to reduce the motor
running amperage to this range. The ammeter records the value of the AC
current on the circular paper chart. A moving iron measuring element responds
to the changes of current input and positions the recording pen on the paper
chart to corresponds with the running amps of the motor.

2.0. MOTOR CONTROLLERS -GENERAL

2.1. MOTOR BASICS

Any submersible motor must have some protective device to prevent motor
damage from electrical or mechanical problems. If there is no mechanical
problem, a motor will run when the correct three-phase power flows in its
windings. There is only one electrical cause of motor failure - insulation
breakdown. When insulation breakdown occurs, electrical energy flows from
the windings to ground, instead of through the windings.

2.2. VOLTAGE DAMAGE

High voltage damages a motor by breaking down the winding insulation. The
high voltage may be either continuous AC voltage or a temporary "transient"
blip on the power lines. The magnitude of the voltage required to actually
damage a motor depends on the quality and condition of the insulation.

Most controllers do not attempt to monitor the incoming voltage to the motor,
or protect against damage by over voltage. The reason for not doing so depends
on the nature of the over-voltage. In the case of continuous AC over-voltage,
the motor current will increase sufficiently to cause an overload shutdown
(assuming the overload is set correctly). If the over-voltage is only a transient,
it is unlikely that the controller will be able to operate quickly enough to
prevent damage to the insulation.

2.3. HEAT DAMAGE

Excessive heat is another major cause of motor damage. Prolonged exposure to

high temperature causes the winding insulation to degrade and ultimately fail.
Heat is generated by current through the windings, friction, and magnetic losses
in the motor.

Heat energy is removed from the motor primarily by conduction through the
housing to fluid flowing past the motor. If there is insufficient fluid flow past

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the motor housing, the motor will overheat. The rate at which heat is removed
depends on the difference in temperature between the motor housing and the
well fluid, and on the thermal conductivity of the housing, coating, and specific
heat of the fluid. Higher temperature well fluid is less effective at cooling the
motor. Overheating of a motor will not only damage the insulation, but can
also harm bearings and seals.

2.4. OVERCURRENT DAMAGE.

The amount of motor current depends mainly on the motor terminal voltage,
motor inductance, winding resistance, and the motor shaft load. The resistance
of the windings is in turn dependent on the size of winding wire and its
temperature.

Every time the motor is started, a high inrush current flows through the
windings. This current, which may be six to ten times nameplate current,
causes excessive heating of the windings which stresses the insulation. The
high current also places high magnetic forces on the windings - an actual push
sideways - which would move the windings if they were not securely held in
place. Several studies have shown that motors which are started repeatedly fail
more frequently than motors which run continuously or are cycled less often.

The ability of a polyphase induction motor to continuously run at 100% of its

rated capacity makes it a truly remarkable device. This also makes it easy to
push the motor past its limits. The horsepower rating of a motor is determined
by how much torque it will produce and how hot it will get when doing so, as
well as the torque rating of the shaft. If heat were not a problem only one size
motor would be needed (small). Unfortunately, such is not the case. If motor
nameplate current is exceeded, that is a good indication that the rated
horsepower is also being exceeded. An effective controller will monitor the
motor current and shut down if the current limit is exceeded. However, to
maintain production it is important not to shut down due to brief spikes of
motor current. More severe overloads should result in faster shutdowns. This is
called an inverse time curve where smaller overloads are allowed for a longer
period of time.

2.5. CONTROLLER BASICS

The high cost of a submersible motor makes an effective protective device a

necessity. The cheapest controller on the market is much too expensive if it
fails to protect the motor. However, protecting the motor means different
things to different people. Some have tried shutting down the motor when the
device sensed a thunderstorm approaching (thunder and lightning detector).
Others only want to shut down just before the surface equipment catches fire.
Most operators will tolerate a few nuisance trips rather than a few motor
failures.

The functions which are absolutely required for all motor controllers are
overload protection, underload or pumpoff protection, and automatic restart
after underload. Some controllers may add shutdown inputs from a pressure

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 switch, underload bypass controls, unbalanced current protection, overvoltage
or undervoltage protection, or other functions.

OPERATIONAL FEATURES.

•CAUSE OF THE LAST 5 SHUTDOWNS.

•TOTAL NUMBER OF STARTS.
•TOTAL RUNNING HOURS SINCE THE MOTOR INSTALLED.
3.0. ESP
•TOTAL Operation
RUNNING HOURS SINCE MOTOR WAS LAST STARTED.
•TOTAL RUNNING HOURS SINCE THE LAST RESET.
Following important features are available with the control panel.
FOLLOWING PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED IF DESIRED.
•VOLTAGE UNBALANCE SETPOINT.
•CURRENT UNBALANCE SETPOINT.
•NUMBER OF AUTOMATIC START.
•STATUS OF EACH ALARM, ENABLED OR BY-PASSED.
•ACTION FOLLOWING SHUTDOWN - LOCKOUT OR RESTART. 5
•TIME DELAY BEFORE SHUTDOWN OF EACH ALARM.
•TIME DELAY AFTER START BEFORE EACH ALARM IS ENABLED.
•SECURITY MODE PASSWORD.
 3.2 ESP Start-up sequence

1. LINE-UP THE WELL TO THE STATION.

a. OPEN MANIFOLD VALVES TO SEPARATOR,
b. OPEN LOCATION VALVE,
c. OPEN MASTER VALVE and WING VALVES,
d. OPEN CASING WING VALVES
2. MAKE SURE POWER AVAILABLE ON CONTROL PANEL.
3. ADJUST AMMETER CHART ACCORDING TO TIME.
4. TURN THE SELECTOR SWITCH TO MANUAL MODE.
5. PRESS START BUTTON.
6. CHECK THE WELL IS FLOWING ( ADJUST THE BEAN IF NEEDED).
7. CHECK and RECORD FLOWING THP & CHP.
8. CHECK FOR ANY LEAKS ( WELLHEAD and FLOWLINE).
9. CHECK THE AMMETER READING ON THE CHART.
10. IF ANY PROCESS TRIP, e.g.. HIGH FLOWLINE PRESSURE, etc.
a. FIND OUT THE REASON AND SOLVE THE PROBLEM
b. RESET THE ESP ( TURN THE SELECTOR SWITCH TO “OFF” & BRING TO MANUAL)
11. START THE PUMP ON MANUAL.
12. OR KEEP THE SELECTOR SWITCH ON AUTO, PUMP WILL AUTO START, AFTER
THE TIME DELAY.
13. ANY ELECTRICAL TRIP DUE TO OL, UL, UNDER VOLTAGE, HIGH VOLTAGE,
UNBALANE etc. SEEK ASSISTANCE FROM ELECTRICAL FOR DETAIL EL. CHECK.
14. IF AFTER WORK OVER or EQUIPMENT CHANGE OUT, ELECTRICIAN HAS TO
CHECK THE SYSTEM THOROUGHLY BEFORE A START UP.

4.0. TROUBLESHOOTING

INTERPRETATION OF AMMETER CHARTS.

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 AMMETER CHARTS ARE CIRCULAR RECORDINGS OF MOTOR
CURRENT VERSUS TIME.
24 hr or 7 day CHARTS ARE BEING USED.
24 hr CHARTS PROVIDE MORE DETAILS FOR ANALYSIS and are
USED IN NEW WELLS.
OTHERWISE 7 day CHARTS ARE GENERALLY USED.
WITH EXPERIENCE THE OPERATOR CAN USE AMMETER
CHARTS FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

Eight typical examples of trouble shooting are given below. Study the
ammeter chart for each typical trouble and how it is interpreted.

Trouble shooting Example - 1

UNIT RUNNING CONTINUOUSLY

AMPERAGE RECORDING IS SMOOTH
IT IS MOTOR NAME PLATE AMPS
IT IS NORMAL RUN

POWER FLUCTUATIONS
BLIPS or KICKS SHOWN AT INTERVALS
DUE TOSTART UP OF OTHER EQUIPMENT

Trouble shooting Example - 2

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Trouble shooting Example - 3

PUMP STARTED AT 6 A.M.

NORMAL RUN UPTO 915 A.M.

PRODUCTION RATE DECLAINED.

PRODUCTION BECAME GASSY

GAS LOCKED & TRIPPED AT 1050 A.M.

CORRECTION:-
LOWER THE PUMP
INCREASE DOWN TIME
CHANGE OUT PUMP IN THE NEXT PULL OUT
DOWN ON UNDERLOAD
PUMPED OFF IN 3hrs 15 minutes
AGAIN PUMPED OFF IN 1 hr.
GAS FREE WELL.
Trouble shooting Example -PUMP
4 IS TOO LARGE.
CORRECTIONS:-
INCREASE DOWN TIME
PUT SMALL PUMP IN THE NEXT PULL OUT.
LOWER THE PUMP
STIMULATE THE WELL

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Trouble shooting Example - 5

GASSY WELL
LARGE AMOUNT OF GAS GOING THROUGH THE PUMP

Amperage changes due to heavy & light fluids.

Hence pressure in the pump changes.
Normal run for high gassy wells.

Corrections:-
Add separator during next pull out.
Increase THP & CHP.

OVERLOAD TRIP
The unit pulled nameplate amps for 3.5 hrs.
Then increased to 59 amps (14% overload)
Tripped on OL at 7 am.
Equipment to be thoroughly checked by Electrician.
Reasons:
Mechanical problems with the pump.
Trouble shooting Example - 6 Sand entry.
Emulsion.
Overheat.

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Trouble shooting Example - 7

ERRATIC LOADING
Erratic but symmetrical from 6 to 9 am.
Then became erratic and went OL & Tripped.
Reasons.
SAND
EMULSION
HIGH VISCOSITY
WORN PUMP
FLUCTUATING PRESSURE AT SURFACE.
CHECK ELECTRICALLY
BURNED MOTOR
BURNED CABLE

UNDERLOAD SHUTDOWN FAILURE.

UNDERLOAD SETTING BELOW NO-LOAD
AMPERAGE.
GONE ON UNDERLOAD AT 10 am.

Trouble shooting Example - 8 But not tripped.

SETTING LOW or FAILED TO TRIP.
NO FLUID FLOW AROUND THE MOTOR.
AT 8 am IT TRIPPED ON OVERLOAD.

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Trouble shooting Example - 9

CLEN-OUT DEBRIS.
Debris such as scale, mud, paraffin or other solids

WELL WAS NOT PROPERLY CLEANED OUT.

WELL KILLED WITH HEAVY MUD.
Or
RECENTLY TREATED FOR SCALE.

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