SCADA Is Key For ESPs

Luke Janger and Louis Lee, Summit ESP

Monday, February 2, 2015 - 9:00am

Operators are investing more than ever in electric submersible pump (ESP)
systems. While choosing the right equipment for an application is key, once
the unit is installed downhole, real-time data acquisition combined with
continuous well surveillance is a necessary component of maximizing return
on an artificial lift investment.

About 120,000 wells around the world are equipped with ESPs. They account
for nearly 60% of the global oil production and are the largest and fastest-
growing segment of the artificial lift industry. Operators have made significant
investments in ESPs; improving performance in unconventional wells,
preventing failures, optimizing efficiencies and increasing run life are crucial in
ensuring field profitability.

SCADA-driven surveillance systems organize and store key operating

parameters in a centralized location for remote monitoring, analysis and
control. The ESP’s downhole sensor provides data to a remote telemetry unit
on the surface that transmits real-time data into the surveillance system via a
satellite or cellular modem. Field operators and engineers are automatically
notified of operating problems and are able to review well performance and
make remote adjustments to equipment. This allows operators to optimize
production, identify data anomalies and correct problems before they lead to
costly system failures.

Without the use of an effective ESP monitoring system, optimizing an ESP

system is a manpower-intensive process. Operators are forced to send field
personnel to the well site to collect performance data and restart the wells
after nuisance shutdowns due to safety set points that quickly become
irrelevant as well conditions change. An effective well surveillance program
can virtually eliminate these manual interventions. Operators can specify
acceptable ranges on all operating parameters remotely via a computer or
mobile device. When the system drifts outside those parameters, operators
are alerted via text messages, phone calls or emails. This allows them to
intervene and make changes rapidly and remotely without the added expense
or deferred production due to delays associated with dispatching field
personnel to remote well sites.

A few examples of scenarios that are commonly detected and remedied via
remote monitoring systems include gas interference, excessive cycling, rising
sand and solid production, and dangerous fluctuations in operating
parameters. Effective well monitoring systems also provide historical trends
analysis of fieldwide well performance. Operators are able to view time-
normalized graphs and compare well performance with their production type
curves.

Remote access combined with automated well reports makes a SCADA-

driven surveillance system a true centerpiece of an evolving digital oil field.
Without this visibility, operators are constrained to old data and
assumptions—an age-old recipe for unnecessary cost, increased opex and
lost revenue.

This technology seemed leading-edge in 2004. More than a decade later,

thousands of wells are under surveillance, but the majority still remain off the
grid. Operators that have made the switch know now more than ever that a
good SCADA-driven surveillance program is a key to realizing maximum
return on their ESP investment.