American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016 - 77

SpecialReport: Artificial Lift Technology
easy to have the hardware perform complex tasks.
"Unlike programming languages such
as C, C++, and Fortran, LabVIEW replaces
purely text-based syntax with a block diagram," Burger describes. "It is like going
from DOS to Windows®. Instead of typing
y = mx + b, the programmer creates a
block for a function and drags data to it.
To execute a string of functions, the programmer puts several blocks next to one
another.
"This graphical approach allows users
to see the flow of the code through the
wires and nodes, so it is more self-documenting, which reduces development time
and simplifies long-term maintenance,"
Burger says. "It also is easier on the programmer. Instead of needing to remember
the syntax for each function, he can
browse the list of options and find what
he needs, much as any computer user
would go through a folder on a Windows
desktop."
To show the significant difference
graphical programming can make, Burger
cites Lime Instruments' experience using

National Instruments' hardware and software to create controllers for hydraulic
fracturing pumps. According to Lime
Vice President of Operations Cory Glass,
one developer managed to do work in
LabVIEW that previously would have
required three or four developers.
Burger says the application also demonstrates how rugged his company's CompactRIO hardware can be. When it
switched to Lime's controllers, C&J Energy Service Inc. reported decreasing its
control system failure rate from 18 to 2
percent.
ESP Monitoring System
Given how much liquid they produce,
improving the performance and run times
of ESPs can have a huge impact on a
producer's bottom line, suggests Brian
Haapanen, Dover Artificial Lift's control
systems director.
"To help our customers optimize ESP
operations, we are offering services centered on a Web-based monitoring platform
called LOOKOUT®, which provides realtime ESP data," Haapanen says. "Like

most monitoring systems, it includes
basic data, such as whether a pump is on
or off and what the amps and volts are.
However, it also can aggregate data that
are beyond the ESP or a particular wellbore, such as tank levels and production
rates.
"More importantly, we are putting in
diagnostics that show the operational
health of the system and help users make
decisions that optimize production and
run life," he continues. "The diagnostic
capabilities in the initial release focus on
the pump curve. For example, we can
put the design and actual operating points
on that curve, as well as highlight the
best efficiency range. We also can tell
whether the pump is running upthrust or
downthrust, which can have a negative
effect on the system's life."
Haapanen says the software will be
more robust by early next year. "We want
to be able to identify tubing leaks, inefficient choke settings at the surface, when
the pump needs to be resized, and when
it is running too hot," he details. "We
also are aiming to recommend production

JUNE 2016 77

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016

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