SPE-183882-MS

Evaluating the Performance of Advanced ESP Motor Technology in a Steam

Assisted Gravity Drainage SAGD Field in Canada

John Graham, Suncor; Bryan Coates, Carlos Montilla, and Oscar Padilla, Baker Hughes

Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference held in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, 6-9 March 2017.

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
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Abstract
A significant percentage of all ESP failures are electrical failures and this becomes even more noteworthy in
harsh, high temperature applications such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). For this reason, it is
extremely important to continue the enhancement of ESP motor technologies that are specifically designed
to address the challenging and unique SAGD environments that include wide bottom hole temperature
ranges, abrasives and gas rich fluids. Through experience and testing, it has been learned that for these types
of applications it imperative to design not only to a high temperature limit, but also to withstand extreme
temperature cycles experienced on steam injection facility shutdown.
A combination of historic evidence with controlled laboratory evidence yielded improvement areas for
a new high-temperature ESP motor development. The new high ultra-temperature motor breaks paradigms
and opens a new generation of motors that looks towards above 300°C downhole temperatures. This paper
will review the performance of the motor at Suncor's Firebag SAGD field where 92 units have been installed
since January 2015 in bottom hole (BHT) temperatures reaching 240°C. Description of the laboratory
qualification, major design characteristics and field results will also be discussed on the paper.

Introduction
Thermal recovery and SAGD applications are notoriously known for having undesirable effects on
downhole pumping systems. This is no exception to motors of ESPs which carries the burden of specific
mechanical and electrical challenges. While technology has evolved over the last 15 years on ESP motors,
historic reliability data and different practices have allowed for step changes in ESP motor design, motor
construction and laboratory testing yielding successful technology.

Ultra-temperature technology
Historically, different tactics have been applied for the development of ESP technology for thermal recovery
application.
▪ Minimizing elastomers - A combination of elevated temperatures and gas/vapor creates an unfriendly
environment for typical ESP elastomeric components.
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▪ Allow for additional oil expansion - Elevated temperatures will result in proportionally larger oil
expansion in the motor and seal chambers.
▪ Allow for thermal expansion of mechanical components - Severe temperature cycles cause
components to grow axially and radially, therefore clearances and materials need to be carefully
selected.
▪ Increase electrical insulation – The insulation life is expected to decrease if the environment it
operates in has a temperature increase; therefore, the electrical insulation needs to be increased.

New ESP motor technology

Laboratory and field testing were used in order to qualify the development of new ESP motor technology.
Key features of the new technology include:
▪ Improved magnetic wire insulation - to tolerate higher operating temperature
▪ Low motor connection profile - for protection during installation and minimized effect due to dog
leg severity (DLS)
▪ Full diameter shaft - for increased torque capability.
▪ Tailored geometry - for improving heat transfer onhigh temperature service
▪ Non epoxied stator - for transferring heat via convection
▪ Non-elastomeric bearings and bushings – to tolerate higher temperatures and larger temperature
cycles.
Non-elastomeric bearings are critical for operating at temperatures above 300°C BHT and for better
reliability at high temperatures. The typical temperature profile of an ESP motor expands radially outward
from the core to the housing. Contact areas, tolerances and materials of the bearings are specifically chosen
to accommodate the typical thermal recovery application ranges. Most importantly, the bearings have been
designed with a self-locking feature to prevent bearing rotation.

Laboratory and Field Tests

After following discrete critical sub-component testing and qualification a two-step subsequent test program
was followed.

Test 1
The first motor test was conducted at a high temperature flow loop in Edmonton, Canada. The scope of
this test was to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the motor at different temperatures that ranged
between 220°C (428°F) and 250°C (482°F) for 46 days at different operating speeds. (Waldner, Wonitoy,
Klaczek, Noonan, 2013). All testing was performed using a 100% silicone fluid with a specific gravity of
1.07.

Test 2
The second motor test was conducted at the Baker Hughes High Temperature test facility in Oklahoma,
USA. A similar testing protocol was used as compared to test #1 with two main differences: 1. The highest
temperature was elevated to 275°C (527°F) and 2. Water was used as a testing fluid.

Test 2 protocol
▪ Start ESP at 60 HZ, ambient temperature
▪ Raise temperature to 255°C; let stabilize for 1 day
▪ Raise temperature to 275°C: let stabilize for 7 days
▪ Begin cycle testing
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– Reduce temp to 175°C (hold for 2 hours)

– Ramp back to 275°C (Ramp times = 2 hours) and hold for remainder of day
– Run cycles daily for the full duration of the test
– Monitor internal motor temperature behavior
▪ After test has finished, fully dismantle the motor and inspect all internal components.
▪ Note any signs of wear or degradation for QA/QC

Test result summary

Both tests were deemed as satisfactory and provided significant data that supported the thermal
characterization of these high temperature ESP motors. The results from test #1 also allowed for two
significant design enhancements. The first enhancement was to improve the geometry of the motor to
minimize oil volume and maximize heat dissipation. The second significant change was to alter the rotor
bearing configuration by completely eliminating the elastomer and by locking the rotor bearing into the
motor stator with a careful selection of materials. These changes allowed the motor to be tested successfully
at 275°C ambient temperature.

Field Test
Following the successful laboratiory tests, a total of 5 field pilots were run on a SAGD field in Canada. To
date, none have been motor related pulls, thus showing the expected performance of the improved motor
technology.

Table 1—Field pilots

Status Install Date Pull Date Run Days Pull Reason

Pulled 14-Feb-13 22-Jun-16 1224 Well Workover

Running 28-Nov-12 1493

Running 1-Nov-13 1141

Pulled 5-Dec-12 21-Oct-16 1416 Well Workover

Running 31-Jan-13 1415

Firebag Project
The Firebag project is located in Northeastern Alberta, approximately 120 km by road northeast of Fort
McMurray. The project uses SAGD to recover bitumen from the McMurray formation. SAGD uses stacked
horizontal well pairs, with the top well (injector) located four to six meters vertically above the bottom
well (producer). Steam is injected into the top well, warming the bitumen and decreasing it's viscosity to
the point at which it will drain, by gravity to the bottom production well. The bottom well typically uses
artificial lift to draw fluid into the wellbore and push it to the surface facilities.
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Figure 1—In Situ Technology used at Firebag Project (Source: Suncor.com)

Firebag Production Wells

1. Firebag producers are typically constructed as follows, as illustrated by Figure 2
2. Surface casing to ~ ¼ the vertical depth of the well (~ 80 m MD), which is cemented in place.
3. Intermediate casing to the end of the build section (~ 550 m MD), which is cemented in place.
4. A long, horizontal, openhole section is then drilled to about 1600 m MD. A slotted liner is installed
in the openhole section to prevent hole collapse, plus exclude mobile sand particles.
5. A long "tail pipe" is run to the toe of the well and suspended at the heel of the slotted liner with a liner
hanger/packer, which is also called a debris seal packer.
6. The ESP is run on production tubing into the intermediate casing and landed just above the slotted
liner debris seal packer.

Figure 2—Firebag SAGD Producer – Mechanical Lift

Produced fluids (water and bitumen) flow into the annulus between the slotted liner and tail pipe. These
fluids then flow towards the toe of the well, enter the tail pipe and flow to the ESP inlet. This fluid is pumped
through the ESP into the production tubing and flows to the wellhead at surface.
The annulus between the intermediate casing and the production tubing is monitored to determine an
annular wellhead pressure. Gauges and a bubble tube are also installed on the ESP to record downhole
pressure and temperature.
Suncor operates the ESPs at less than the steam saturation temperatures to avoid pulling steam (vapour)
into the liners and ESPs. The difference between the steam chamber temperature and the ESP inlet
temperature is called "reservoir subcool", and is typically around 20 – 30°C.
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Operating Conditions
Firebag production well operating conditions are illustrated in Table 2. Downhole conditions vary somewhat
across the field, depending on well depth and maximum allowable operating pressure (MOP).

Table 2—Firebag Production Well Operating Conditions

Problem Description
Field performance before Motor improvements
At January 1st, 2017 there were 170 Electric submersible pumps (ESP) running at Firebag. The mean time
to failure (MTTF) since day one is 656 days.
Since the beginning of SAGD production, many technical improvements have been applied to increase
the reliability of ESPs. However, by Aug 2016, the motor was still the main failed component for Baker
Hughes, with the root cause being insulation degradation due to heat. More detailed information on main
failed components are presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3—Primary failed components at teardown from Firebag 2013-2016

The performance trend seen in the Firebag field was consistent with other SAGD Operators fields. In
Figure 4 below, detailed information is presented regarding primary failed components of all ESP runs
during Jan 2013 to Aug 2016.
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Figure 4—Primary failed components at teardown all from SAGD operators 2013-2016

Failure analysis and new motor technology

The need for an improved motor was apparent in 2011, and Baker Hughes started working on the new
technology. An opportunity for improvement was found in the motor stator construction. A typical failure
mode on high-temperature motors for SAGD application was unbalanced phase to phase and weak phase to
ground readings. These were indicative of epoxy degradation at elevated temperatures, so the objective was
to design and produce a 562 motor prototype that contained no epoxy wire, eliminating a perceived weak
point of the system. In a motor, the primary purpose of the epoxy is to mechanically restrain the magnet
wires so that they do not move and damage themselves during shipment or operation. A secondary function
of the epoxy is to help transfer heat from the wires to the stator laminations. Heat transfers from the stator
laminations to the housing, then to the produced fluid and away from the motor, thus keeping the wires
cool. Heat degrades the electrical insulation on, and near, the magnet wires. If the heat is not effectively
removed from the vicinity of the wires, the temperature of the insulation rises, and its service-life is reduced.
Varnishes are common encapsulants that serve the same function as epoxies, but varnishes are also incapable
of surviving the high temperatures required for this project.

Figure 5—Cut away of the first generation of high temperature motors built with epoxy

Figure 6—Cut away of the third generation of high temperature motor (no epoxy)
SPE-183882-MS 7

A new mechanical method of restraining the stator's end coils was developed, prototyped, and tested on
a stator specially built for that purpose.
Items needing attention included: lamination retention within the stator housing; extending the operating
temperature and cycles of our elastomers (or eliminating those elastomers); protecting the stators from
moisture during storage and shipping; and increasing seal section expansion capacity.
The design, laboratory testing and field testing programs yielded a new motor that not only included
a non-epoxied stator, but also included changes in the magnetic wire insulation, geometry and material
changes of critical parts – all required to deal with the aforementioned challenges.

Field Performance of new motor technology

At the end of 2012, two of the pilots were installed in SAGD wells. Another 3 pilot systems were installed
during 2013. However, it was not until mid-end of 2014 when the product became commercial and was
offered to SAGD operators. Suncor was an early adopter of this technology, and their temperature related
motor failures started dropping as illustrated below in figure 7.

Figure 7—Motor as primary failed component at teardown 2013-2016

Application time of the improved motors has not been long enough to compare actual run-lives, but the
survivability of the motors before and after the improvements can be observed. A considerable improvement
in performance can be seen between the past generation of high-temperature motors versus the improved
units currently operating running in the SAGD wells as per figures 8 and 9.

Figure 8—First generation motor survivability – All SAGD fields

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Figure 9—New motors generation motor survivability – All SAGD fields

Conclusions
1. By utilizing historic reliability data and combining effective engineering and testing practices, new
high-temperature motor technology has been developed for two different temperature tiers.
2. Based on the current survivability data, the new motor generation may increase ESP run time days by
an estimated 50% compared to the previous motor generation.
3. The new motor technology has been trialed since 2015 and implemented in the Firebag field (Suncor)
with decreased motor failure frequency in high-temperature SAGD applications.
4. The run time results show that there was value in conducting discrete component testing, full
system qualification testing and field testing with this new technology in representative application
conditions.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Suncor Energy and Baker Hughes for support and permission to publish
this paper.

Disclaimer
Suncor Energy Inc. and its affiliates (collectively "Suncor") do not make any express or implied
representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the statements, information,
data and content contained in this paper and any materials or information (written or otherwise) provided
in conjunction with this paper (collectively, the "Information"). The Information has been prepared solely
for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon. Suncor is not responsible for and is hereby
released from any liabilities whatsoever for any errors or omissions in the Information and/or arising out
of a person's use of, or reliance on, the Information.

References
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Alberta", JCPT, December 2001, V 40 No. 12, pages 13-17.
2. S.C., Solanki, R., Bowman, and D., Rowatt, "Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage with Electric
Submersible Pumping Systems", 2005 Gulf Coast Electric Submersible Pump Workshop held in
Houston, Texas, April 27- 29, 2005.
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3. Richard, M. Stahl (Suncor Energy Inc.) | Jennifer, D. Smith (Suncor Energy Inc.) | Scott, Hobbs
(Halliburton) | Colin, M. Clarke (Baker Hughes), "Application of Intelligent Well Technology
to a SAGD Producer: Firebag Field Trial, SPE Heavy Oil Conference-Canada held in Alberta,
Canada, 10-12 June 2014.
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6. Steve, Tetzlaff, Kelvin, Wonitoy, Brad, Ward, Lawrence, Burleigh - Baker Hughes Centrilift;
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