FERRORESONANCE MEASUREMENTS AND MODELING; A WAVEFORM IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Abstract

Over the last few decades, artificial lifting using Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESPs) became dominant in the oil and gas industry. ESP systems became essential for oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia to meet the global energy demand. Therefore, failures in such systems shall be minimized by proper upfront design. This paper describes the efforts made by the authors to address chronic failures in ESP systems. Numerous ESP transformers have failed in two of the major Saudi Aramco fields with 34.5kV networks. Power quality measurements were conducted to capture ferroresonance during single phase switching. Electromagnetic transient simulation was conducted to address similar installations without having to do the measurements at every location of concern. Mitigation solutions were recommended for existing installations as well as best design practices for new projects.