iESP™ Master Control Unit

Monitoring and control of operational electric submersible pump (ESP) installations is critical for several reasons. There are some instances where the well site visits of the pumper or operator are not frequent enough for the proper control on these installations. Some of the reasons for this are:

• Remote locations that are either difficult or dangerous to get to leading to a need to reduce the frequency of visits to the location.
• Prolific producers, of which any down time results in large losses of revenue, require immediate notification of a down system.
• Trouble wells due to dirty power, cyclic reservoirs, solids production, and scale formation require advanced control logic to optimize.

Weatherford offers an intelligent ESP solution, the iESP Master Control Unit. The EXS-1000 Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) is the heart of the iESP optimization solution providing automatic remote control of ESP produced wells. The iESP unit interfaces with a variety of smart sensors at the well site to monitor, control, and automate the start-up process for ESP systems.

Several features have been incorporated into the RTU including "smart" serial communications interfaces to the local control valve, sand monitor probe, downhole pressure sensor, and ESP controller. The iESP unit gathers and stores information from each of the smart sensors through a polling process. This information is then processed locally by the iESP unit or fed back to the control center to allow well analysts to make decisions on system optimization. The result is that real-time decisions are made and implemented which increases overall system efficiency. Optimization of motor speed for variable flux drive applications is also supported.

Additional system benefits are:

• A fully protected remote start-up process of the ESP pumping system, utilized in appropriate situations, minimizes production deferment.
• Remote optimization of the well to provide the maximum produced fluid while maintaining the system integrity within operating limits.
• The iESP unit supports a smart interface to all brand name ESP controllers including Vortex, Keltronics, and Wood Group (CTI).