Systems and Methods for Transmission of Electric Power to Downhole Equipment
First Claim
1. A method for providing power to downhole equipment, the method comprising:
- providing power at a surface location;
transforming the power at the first voltage to a second voltage which is greater than the first voltage;
applying the power at the second voltage to a power cable, thereby transmitting the power over the power cable from the surface location to a downhole location, wherein the power is received at the downhole location at a third voltage, wherein the third voltage is less than the second voltage and greater than the first voltage;
transforming the power received at the downhole location from the third voltage to a fourth voltage which is less than the third voltage; and
providing the power at the fourth voltage to the downhole equipment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods in which output power that would conventionally be provided by surface equipment to drive downhole equipment, is transformed to increase the voltage before transmitting the power over a power cable to downhole equipment. The downhole equipment includes a step-down transformer that receives power from the power cable at a voltage which is too high to drive the motor or other downhole equipment and reduces the voltage to a level that is suitable for use by the downhole equipment. The step-down transformer may utilize toroidal transformers that are positioned around other components of the system, such as the shaft that couples a motor to an electric submersible pump. The step-down transformer may be configured as a modular unit that can be inserted between components (e.g. motor and seal) that are manufactured using conventional designs.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for providing power to downhole equipment, the method comprising:
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providing power at a surface location; transforming the power at the first voltage to a second voltage which is greater than the first voltage; applying the power at the second voltage to a power cable, thereby transmitting the power over the power cable from the surface location to a downhole location, wherein the power is received at the downhole location at a third voltage, wherein the third voltage is less than the second voltage and greater than the first voltage; transforming the power received at the downhole location from the third voltage to a fourth voltage which is less than the third voltage; and providing the power at the fourth voltage to the downhole equipment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system comprising:
an electric submersible pump apparatus having a pump, an electric motor, a shaft coupled between the motor and the pump, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the shaft and thereby drive the pump, and a step-down transformer subsystem coupled to the motor, wherein the transformer subsystem is configured to receive power from a power cable at a first voltage, to transform the power to a second voltage which is less than the first voltage, and to provide the power at the second voltage to the motor. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for retrofitting an electric submersible pump (ESP) system comprising:
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providing an ESP system, wherein the ESP system includes a drive subsystem configured to generate output power at a first voltage, and a motor which is coupled to the drive subsystem by a power cable, wherein the motor is configured to receive power from the cable at a second voltage and to operate using the received power at the second voltage; inserting a step-up transformer between the drive subsystem and the power cable, wherein the step-up transformer transforms the output power to a third voltage which is greater than the first voltage and provides the output power at the third voltage to the power cable; and inserting a step-down transformer between the power cable and the motor, wherein the step-down transformer receives power received from the power cable at a fourth voltage which is greater than the second voltage, transforms the power at the fourth voltage to the second voltage, and provides the power at the second voltage to the motor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification