Reliability of electrical submersible pumps at oil fields

This paper presents the investigation of the high rate interruption of more than 170 crude oil wells operated by electrical submersible pumps located at an oil field. The paper analyzes the trips caused by different types of faults at the overhead lines supplying power to the electrical submersible pumps, relying mainly on examining numerous waveforms captured by the fault recorder and presents implemented solutions. The paper also analyzes, in depth, the voltage sag associated with faults at the distribution as well as the utility network, and proposes solutions.