Baker Hughes has installed the world’s first ultra-temperature electrical submersible pumping (ESP) systems in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) wells in the Canadian oil sands. Nine Centrilift XP™ ESP production systems, which can operate at fluid temperatures up to 250°C (482°F), have been installed since April 15, 2010.

 

Calgary-based Cenovus Energy, currently field testing the system at its Christina Lake, Alberta, thermal project, is among the first to deploy the new technology.

 

The ultra-temperature ESP system design is the result of several years of intensive research and development in specialized testing facilities at Baker Hughes’ ESP product center in Claremore, Oklahoma, USA. The one-of-a-kind testing facilities allow Baker Hughes’ research and development engineers not only to design and test ESP equipment at temperatures up to 300°C (572°F), but also to simulate the horizontal orientation and temperature cycling characteristics of SAGD wells.