Problem

Oil field economics are changing rapidly. As a way to save money and reduce environmental impacts, many oil producers are using multi-well pad drilling as an alternative to single well sites. Over the life of a well, different types of artificial lift equipment may be employed to maximize production. Unfortunately, with more wells there is an increase in harmonics, and also in voltage distortion. This is presenting a problem for many multi-well pad drilling sites.

A field operator in the Bakken region called upon TCI to find the best solution for reducing the costs of mitigating harmonic issues over the lifetime of their site. The customer’s site was a multi-well pad with 18 wells that could transition through various artificial lift technologies over their lifecycle. If single well solutions are3 used, each time that a pump change was made to the site, new harmonic filters were required. This field operator was looking for a single solution that could handle all of their harmonic needs throughout the lifecycle of the site. The operator contacted TCI for assistance in solving their significant harmonic current and high background voltage distortion problems.

Solution

TCI engineers found that the best solution to the harmonic current and voltage distortion problems was to install one HarmonicGuard Active Filter (HGA) at the PCC. Over the lifetime of multi-well pads, a single HGA can replace multiple passive harmonic filters, multi-pulse drives, or active front end drives. Throughout the pads lifecycle, the HGA will enable the use of simple, quick ship, six-pulse VFDs. The HGA is a one-time installation with one disconnect per site. The HGA is IEEE-519 compliant at the point of common coupling. It is a shunt device, which means that a fault in the filter will not halt the VFD operation and oil production.