Monitoring electric submersible pumps

Reduce suspended production from ESP operated wells

Monitor your complete ESP health from the surface-level motor control cabinet.

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Unexpected ESP failures lead to weeks or months of suspended production

The average electric submersible pump (ESP) runs to failure in just 2-3 years, due to harsh operating conditions. Failure is often unexpected, making it difficult to replace the ESP in a short time frame. What’s more, efforts to prolong ESP run-life often center around data from downhole sensors, which can fail themselves due to the harsh conditions down the well.

Problem 1

Lost production

Non-productive time can stretch from 16 days to 7 months.

Problem 2

No visibility

Downhole sensors frequently stop working before the ESP itself.

Electric submersible pumps mostly fail due to electrical failures

The below chart gives insight into the percentage split of electric submersible pump failure modes based on average results of a statistical analysis of 971 ESP failures over 5 years across 10 wells (source 1, source 2).

Percentage split of esp failures

Percentage split of different electric submersible pump failures

The largest part of all ESP failures is caused by electrical failure

..this is where Samotics excels

Samotics’ Electrical Signature Analysis technology is in the best position to detect electrical failures. Our sensors continue to function after a downhole sensor breaks down, because you install the sensors safely inside the surface motor control cabinet.

Electrical failure modes
Detection lead time
Detectable by Samotics
Detectable by downhole sensor
Detectable by Ammeter chart*
Phase unbalance
Real time on indicators, failure in hours to days.
Under- and over voltage
Real time on indicators, failure in hours to days.
Sine wave filter failure
Real time on indicators, failure in hours to days.
Overcurrent
Real time on indicators, failure in hours to days.

* Samotics also provides an Ammeter chart.

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Decrease suspended production time through advanced warnings and run-life extending insights

What if you could see ESP failure coming days to weeks in advance? That would allow mobilizing a workover rig, getting replacement parts and scheduling a crew even before failure happens. For typical oil field operations, this saves days to weeks of suspended production.

At the same time, having a reliable source of ESP operational insights allows operators to adjust their operating settings to extend ESP runlife.

Samotics covers the most common and costly ESP failure modes

Detect the most common electrical faults - both in surface equipment and the downhole motor

Solve above-ground electrical issues to extent ESP lifetime or be warned for imminent motor failure, enabling timely overhaul preparations.

Example: Sine-wave filter failure

SAM4 detected a severe increase and imbalance in the main harmonics, indicating electrical component failure—likely in the sine wave filter.

The customer investigated and was able to repair the sine wave filter in time, preventing a ‘dirty’ power supply to the ESP and reducing the risk of early failure.

Sine wave filter failure

Identify anomalies and mechanical wear before it leads to ESP failure in the full application: motor, coupling and pump stages

Accurately predict upcoming ESP failure. Enabling operators to prepare for an overhaul, reducing lost production time.

Example: Mechanical rotor (blade) degradation

SAM4 detected increased energy around the 2nd and 4th harmonics, indicating mechanical wear on one of the rotors within the ESP. The customer was able to prepare for ESP replacement, reducing turnaround time.

Mechanical rotor blade degradation 1
Top: Increased energy (blue) around the harmonics. Bottom: Energy is tracked over time and compared to similar ESPs, showing a steep increase.
Mechanical rotor blade degradation 2

Gas locking, dry-running, or other changes in intake conditions are detected accurately and in real time - 24/7 - by identifying patterns such as:

Enabling operators to take action, increasing production and extending the ESPs lifetime.

Example: Real-time gas-locking detection

SAM4 identified gas-locking through a combination of excessive cycling combined with spikes and inconsistent power consumption, indicating unexpected changes in the process or pumped medium.

Excessive cycling highlighted by the current rmp
Excessive cycling highlighted by the current RMP.
Spikes and irregular patterns in active power use
Spikes and irregular patterns in active power use.

Catch issues deep down—
without going down

Plug-and-play condition monitoring sensor

Install inside the surface motor control cabinet

Safely install the condition monitoring sensor inside the surface motor control cabinet to monitor the most important parts of the drivetrain at hard-to-reach places.

Electrical signature analysis system installed inside a motor control cabinet

Failure prediction

Improve maintenance resource planning through predictive alerts

Leverage AI models that accurately predict upcoming asset failure on thousands of assets.

Real-time ESP performance

Use real-time surveillance and insight to extend ESP run-life

The rich electrical signal provides real-time insight into ESP performance, including current and voltage behavior, start-stop frequency, and operating patterns across different pump speeds.

Real-time condition monitoring

Book a demo with Samotics

Book a demo to see how SAM4 detects early signs of ESP degradation using sensors in the motor control cabinet. Get clear, real-time insights into pump and motor health – so you can act before production is disrupted.