Manage Your Power to Enhance Safety, Improve Uptime

First of Two Parts

Safe, dependable power is crucial in upstream pumping and drilling applications. Improving personnel and equipment safety is a top priority. At the same time, systems need to be up and running all the time.

By managing power strategically, companies will be better equipped to help meet the collective global energy appetite in an environment that is safer for personnel and with equipment and systems that are up and running more consistently. Additionally, power management helps save energy and reduce energy costs.

Beyond safety and reliability concerns, reducing the weight and size of equipment is a persistent, practical concern. This is true for both new facilities and expansions to existing ones. The first part of this article focuses on the components engineered to enhance safety, improve uptime and increase efficiency in a compact and comparatively lightweight footprint.
 

Rated Right

Meeting current standards, certifications and guidelines is a given. Ensuring that equipment will meet evolving guidelines can be a challenge.

For offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico, equipment must be American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) certified. National Electrical Manufacturer Association (NEMA) ratings on all components within assemblies are mandated. The global nature of this business requires components that meet specifications from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The many components that are dual rated—for both IEC and NEMA—help make satisfying the requirements of either specification easier and are versatile for global applications.

To meet the environmental rigors of upstream applications, equipment must have appropriate environmental ratings—so you can be confident that your equipment and processes can operate reliably. Specific ratings may include: Bureau Veritas (BV), Germanischer Lloyd (GL), Lloyd’s Register as well as NEMA and IP enclosure ratings.
 

Circuit Protection

Engineered for mission critical applications, a range of circuit protection devices can help keep equipment and processes running reliably, while meeting marine ratings. Industry-leading circuit protection equipment can also incorporate protections from arc flash hazards—improving personnel safety.

There is a potential for serious injury due to exposure to electrical arcs. NFPA 70E and IEEE 1584 address the risks of arc flash hazards for personnel working on or near energized electrical equipment.