MTE
The shocking truth about poor power quality MTE Corporation helps mitigate the hidden costs of electrical power quality in your operation By Ahsan Javed, MTE Corp.
THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM The growing use of variable frequency drives (VFD) in oil extraction operations, such as electrical submersible pumps (ESP’s), is accompanied by increasing, unwanted harmonics within the electrical system. VFDs use pulse width modulation (PWM) to control electrical motors, a method that creates many impulses or edges, resulting in harmful harmonics on the power Electrical power quality is an often-overlooked contributing
and control cables. These harmonics cause “pollution” of the
factor to the uptime, safety and profitability of an oil and gas
electrical signals, commonly manifested as common-mode or
operation. Unplanned downtime due to lack of compliance with
differential mode noise.
local utilities, equipment damage or malfunction can easily cost upwards of several hundred thousand dollars per day, severely impacting the financials of an onshore rig. Maintaining power quality and implementing preventative measures can help to proactively prevent and mitigate many of these issues.
In addition, the remote nature of many extraction operations means that utility power will likely be less than ideal and require harmonic mitigation prevention on the line side in compliance with IEEE519. Environmental factors, such as storms and lightning, can also play a factor and wreak havoc with surges on
POWER QUALITY CHALLENGES
electrical systems.
The majority of well operators place little emphasis on power
SOLVING POWER QUALITY WITH MTE’S CLASSLEADING SOLUTIONS
quality, thus many of the issues can be mistakenly diagnosed as standard operation or “ghosts in the machine.” At their most benign, these can manifest themselves as nuisance tripping, or failed relays and capacitors. However, even these relatively minor issues can result in expensive maintenance and downtime. More impactful concerns can be motor and equipment failure, and downhole sensor interference which can cause errant, or unsafe operation, and result in extensive equipment damage or losttime safety incidents. Sending out a maintenance crew several hundred miles with the correct part can sometimes takes days or weeks, resulting in reduced productivity.
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BAKKEN OIL REPORT – Spring/Summer 2021
Our newest innovation, the Sinewave NexusTM, is the most advanced power-quality solution on the market. While competitors misleadingly claim common mode reduction, Nexus is the only product that virtually eliminates common mode noise (less than 90 percent attenuation), in addition to mitigating differential mode noise and other harmonics. Common mode noise, both voltage and current, can manifest itself in several different ways, the most damaging of which is motor-bearing fluting damage. Left unchecked, this can lead to premature motor wear and failure, resulting in expensive repairs
