Electrical Submersible Pump Systems: Evaluating Their Power Consumption

Due to cost increases in the current energy market, the need for power consumption evaluation and improvement of electrical submersible pump (ESP) systems remains strong. There are, however, no established standards or criteria for such an evaluation, which makes it a difficult task for the oil industry. This article intends to introduce suitable approaches and general criteria for the purpose of power consumption evaluation. There are two existing methods for calculating power consumption in ESP systems. Method 1 is known as lifting cost calculation, which determines power consumption using the measured kilowatthours during a specific period of time divided by the production rate in barrels per day and by the lifted fluid in feet. Method 2 is known as pump-system efficiency calculation. However, it cannot be determined, using these two methods, whether the ESP system is efficient enough or needs improvement. In this article, general criteria for power consumption evaluation for ESP wells are proposed, and the relationship between the two existing methods is analyzed. A case study using 20 operating ESP wells is provided to clearly demonstrate the application of the proposed criteria.