SPE 117375

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) – New Type of Drives for

Submersible Oil Pumps
V. Pavlenko, «RITEK-ITC»

Copyright 2008, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2008 SPE Russian Oil & Gas Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, 28–30 October 2008.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not
been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum
Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited.
Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE
copyright.

Although the design and manufacturing technology of submersible rotary pump units
(SRPU) are constantly improving, for the last few years no fundamental technological
solutions for the drives of these units have been offered. Efficiency of submersible
asynchronous electric motors which conditions both energy consumption and service life
has virtually never been changed within many years. Today, it has become obvious that
opportunities of further efficiency increase for standard electric motors of PED type
(submersible) are virtually exhausted. During operation of SRPU in specific modes the
resource of PED and the unit as a whole significantly decreases.
Основные
Major недостатки традиционных
drawbacks of standard motors (PEDпогружных
type)
электродвигателей ПЭД:

- Низкий КПД, приводящий

- Low efficiency which causes their к overheating
его перегреву
and, asи,a result,-
как следствие,-
service life
reduction
снижению ресурса,
- Relatively high values of currents resulting in cable power loss
- Относительно высокие
- Multiple increase значения
of starting currents atтоков,
launch приводящие к потерям
-мощности
High powerв кабельной
consumption forлинии.
oil production
- Кратное увеличение пусковых токов при запусках установок.
-Высокие энергозатраты на добычу нефти.

Relatively low efficiency of electric motors of PED type and their design features cause
high specific heat release and, as a result, their failure. Over the past years use of SRPU
with controlled electric drives in oil industry has already increased considerably.
Nevertheless, these controlled drives do not give total increase in energy conversion
efficiency. Improvement in this direction is marked by the development of smart
electromechanical energy converters which simultaneously perform energy conversion
and its control. These devices are electromechanical energy converters which combine
properties of both electric machine, and integrated system of controlled electric drive.
Among these smart electromechanical energy converters are permanent magnet
2 SPE 117375

synchronous motors - PMSM (Fig.1), production and application of which is intensive

developing over the past years. In accordance with international classification the name
of such motors is Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM). In Russia electric
motors of this type are called Self-controlled Synchronous Motors

Permanent
Standard Motor Magnet motor

Copper Permanent
rods magnets

Compared with standard motors, permanent magnet

motors are not self-sufficient. They fail to operate without
frequency transformers and control systems. «Permanent
magnet motors are electromechanical energy converters
which combine properties of both electric machine, and
integrated system of controlled electric drive »

VD
Control system

Permanent Magnet Motor Drive

Fig. 1 Design features of standard and permanent magnet motors

Electric motors with permanent magnets in the rotor have the following advantages: no
power consumption to transfer energy to the rotor and no relevant losses as in the short
circuit winding of standard motor rotors, thus their efficiency is higher than that of
standard motors while values of operating currents and those of idle running – lower.
Permanent Magnet Motor Drives containing the electric motor equipped with the rotor
SPE 117375 3

made on permanent magnets, and control station which supply voltage for starter winding
according to a special algorithm, began to be applied several decades ago, though their
wide application became possible thanks to recent advancements in the development of
power, microprocessor electronics and software control tools.
Russian specialists started to discuss the application of AC electric motors as drives for
SRPU in the early 1990s. Considering urgency of the problem related to efficiency
enhancement of submersible pumps and, in the first place, reduction of energy
consumption in oil production, as early as in 1995 when use of AC electric motors as
SRPU drives seemed far from obvious, JSC “LUKOIL” entered their designing in the list
of the most significant R&D and began to finance this work. In 1996 a working model
prototype of the first in the world submersible electric motor for the SRPU drive was
manufactured.
The full scale prototype models for a new type of drives were tested in 1998 in wells of
LLC “LUKOIL – Zapadnaya Sibir” and JSC “RITEK”. The tests have proved possibility
and expediency of their application as drives for submersible pumps. In 2000 in order to
implement the project a specialized enterprise – LLC “RITEK-ITC” was founded as a
subsidiary of the Russian Innovation Fuel and Energy Company JSC “RITEK” being a
member of PC “LUKOIL” Group. “RITEK-ITC” specialists have elaborated
documentation and in 2001 started production of the first in the world permanent magnet
motor drives for SRPU.

Generalized description of permanent magnet motor drives designed by LLC

“RITEK-ITC”

Permanent magnet motor drives for SRPU of LLC”RITEK-ITC”

design have overall characteristic which allow to create optimal
process conditions for well production recovery with minimal
energy consumption and maximum service life.

Advantages of permanent magnet motor drives of LLC “RITEK-ITC” design compared

with conventional asynchronous submersible electric motors (PED) are given in Table 1.
4 SPE 117375

Advantages of permanent magnet SRPU motor drives Table 1.

Parameters of permanent magnet motors
Low current values

starter winding
Low overheat of
Possible Low values of

High efficiency
Independency
Additional resources of

Idle running
rotation minimum

Operating
of torque on

Starting
submersible pump units speed required flow
rotation speed
adjustment rates for
cooling liquids

Units of SRPU type

Functional parameters
Control of feed
Operations in wells with low withdrawal
and unstable feed

Smooth SRPU start

Post-workover operations in wells
without SRPU being switched off to cool
the motor
Operations in intermittent wells with high
resource level of equipment
Resource characteristics
Motor and hydroprotection resource
increase
Cable resource increase
Pump resource increase

Reduction of power consumption

SSPU Units
Development of low-rotation motors
for drives of screw pumps

Designed and produced are complete drives based on permanent magnet motors of VD-
117 type (body outside diameter - 117 mm) with capacities – 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64 kVt
and adjustment range of rotation speed - 1500-3600 rpm.
The capacity of one rotor section in VD-117 motor at rotation speed of 3000 rpm equals 8
kVt. It is twice higher than that of a rotor section in standard PED-117 motor at the same
rotation speed. That is why the length of its active part is nearly two times less than that
of the active part in the standard motor, while the total VD motor length is one and a half
times less.
Operating range of VD-117 rotation speed adjustment enables to compensate errors in
design of operation parameters, selection of rotary pumps which can be made even if the
most sophisticated software for the selection process is applied, as well as optimize
functions of the system “pump-well” in case the formation production parameters are
changed.
The upper value of the selected adjustment range – 3600 rpm allows to use standard
rotary pumps as parts of SRPU with permanent magnet motors, hydroprotection, cable
lines, transformers, as well as maximum unificate the design of permanent magnet drive
SPE 117375 5

with the one of PED submersible motors (utilized materials, bodies, shafts, end parts,
friction bearings, manufacturing and maintenance technology). Basic advantages of
permanent magnet drives (VD) compared with standard ones (PED) specify their high
energy and thermal characteristics (Table 2).
Energy and thermal characteristics of standard and
SRPU permanent magnet drives
Table 2
Motor type
Standard Permanent
Parameter
magnet
PED32-117 VD32-117
Rated capacity, kVt 32 32
Rated voltage, V 1000 1050
Rated current, А 26 21
Idle running current, А 11 <2
Motor efficiency, % 84,5 91,0
Drive efficiency, % 81,9* 88,2
Motor power factor (Соs ф) 0,85 0,99
Drive power factor 0,9 0,92
Specific heat release, kVt/m2 5,5 3,2
Excess of starter winding
40 20
temperature , °С
Flow rate of cooling liquid,
0,08 0,04
m/sec, minimum

*drive with possible rotation speed adjustment

The first well in which SRPU equipped with serial permanent magnet motor drives of the
LLC “RITEK-ITC” design was installed was put into operation in March, 2002. Figure 2
shows growth dynamics of the number of wells in PC “LUKOIL” in which SRPU and
SPEU (screw pump electric units) equipped with permanent magnet motor drives are
installed.
6 SPE 117375

The number of wells

VD@VVD total SRPU w/VD SPEU w/VVD

Fig.2 Growth dynamics of the number of wells in PC “LUKOIL” in which SPRU and
SSPU equipped with permanent magnet motor drives are installed
Experience gained in operation of SRPU permanent magnet motor drives in oil producing
enterprises of PC “LUKOIL” Group has verified their universality and integrated
technological, resource and energy efficiency.
Process efficiency
Process efficiency is achieved by manual or automated (when completing SRPU with the
telemetry system) rotation speed adjustment for preset dynamic level maintenance in the
well according to a preset pressure parameter at pump suction. The actually used range
of rotation speed adjustment is 2400-3600 rpm, in rated mode (2900-3000 rpm) 14% of
SRPU being in operation, lower than rated mode (2400-3000 rpm) – 72,4% and higher
than rated mode (3000-3600 rpm) - 13,6%.
SPRU Service life
High efficiency of permanent magnet motors and capability to adjust rotation speed
increase both their resource and that of the entire unit. In all enterprises in which SRPU
with permanent magnet motors are used the maximum time to failure exceeds 1000 days.
Maximum time to failure of SPRU with Permanent magnet motor equaled 1530 days.
Energy efficiency
Reduction of energy consumption when replacing SPRU conventional asynchronous
drives for permanent magnet motor drives is achieved by:
- possible adjustment of rotation speed;
- high values of permanent magnet motor efficiency and capacity factors;
- low values of permanent magnet motor operating currents minimizing cable power
loss.
SPE 117375 7

Reduction of energy consumption measured by instruments in wells prior and after

installation of SPRU with permanent magnet motor drives is estimated to be 15-25 %.
Low-rotation permanent magnet motors for SPRU drives
High specific indices of progressing long–term torque independent on rotation speed for
permanent magnet motors enabled “RITEK-ITC” specialists to find solution to the urgent
problem of creation a highly reliable and relatively cheap low-rotation (100-500 rpm)
motor for the units of screw pumps with a bottom electric drive. Application of these
units allows to solve some technological resource problems occurring during operation of
screw pumps with surface drives, including problems with strength of actuated rods,
particularly in directional and highly deviated strings. Due to the fact that so far we
failed to manufacture submersible standard motors stable operating at constant torque of
the adjustable rotation speed 100-500 rpm, a number of companies producing units of
screw pumps equipped with bottom drives use SPRU standard motors with the rotation
speed of 3600 rpm, the reduction of screw pump rotation speed being achieved by
mounting a reducer between the pump and motor. But these reducers, having limited
dimensions to meet requirements for installation in strings and maintenance in operation,
have short service life. The first in the world low-rotation high-torque permanent magnet
motors of VVD type designed by “RITEK-ITC” specialists directly create desired torques
and pump rotation speed, thus significantly increasing reliability of submersible pumping
units.
Motors of VVD-117 series with the parameters given in the below Table 3 are in
production now.
Parameters of VVD-117
Table 3
Parameter Motor type
VVD6 VVD12 VVD18 VVD24 VVD30 VVD36 VVD42 VVD48
Capacity at 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48
1000 rpm kVt
Torque, Nm
Rated 57,0 115,0 172,0 230,0 288,0 345,0 402,0 460,0
Starting 68,0 138,0 206,0 276,0 346,0 414,0 482,0 552,0

As of 01.07.2008 PC “LUKOIL” Screw Pump Electric Units (SPEU) with low-rotation

permanent magnet motors VVD are used in 124 wells. Application of VVD motors in
SPEU with double flow pumps EVN5 of Russian manufacturer and single flow pumps
NSPSP of NETZSCH company (Germany) made it possible to increase their time to
failure from 100-300 days (for standard SPEU) up to 250-800 days (for SPEU with
VVD).
Today, permanent magnet drives for submersible rotary pumps of the LLC
“RITEK-ITC” design have securely entered the list of equipment used by oil workers to
solve the problem of oil production enhancement.
8 SPE 117375

The experience gained in operation of submersible units with permanent magnet motor
drives gives all reasons to believe that oil workers possess a new tool which enables to
increase efficiency of oil production using submersible pumping units.