Material Overview for Electrical Submersible Pumps: Part II—Polymeric and Other Materials

Abstract

Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are a key artificial-lift technology in the petroleum industry. Worldwide, installed ESPs in oil wells are in the range of 130,000 units, contributing to approximately 60% of the total oil production in the world. An ESP is made up of hundreds of components integrated to perform the lifting function. Materials in these components belong to several categories, including metals, ceramics, polymers, and others. A good understanding of these materials and vigilant selection for a specific application are critical to the reliability and run life of an ESP system. This series of papers provides an overview of all major classes of materials used in ESP systems. It is intended to serve as a reference for ESP field-application engineers who are responsible for the design, equipment longevity, and production optimization. This paper focuses on polymers and other materials. The information compiled in this paper is the result of an extensive literature review. We cover materials used in the motor, protector, pump, and cable (sensor, packer, Y-tool, diverter valve, surface components of variable-speed drives, and transformer are not included). For each class of materials, we identify relevant material properties and discuss suitable application conditions.