Page 1 of 5 2013-PSPC-399

Coordination of overcurrent relays in an on Field Electric Distribution System

with On-site Generation

Esteban Bravo A. Esperanza S. Torres Gustavo A. Ramos L.

e-brac@ieee.org estorres@ieee.org gramos@uniandes.edu.co
Department ofElectrical and Electronic Engineering
Universidad de Los Andes. Bogota D.C., Colombia

Abstract - Overcurrent protection of electrical systems in Oil on-site generation, as the system of own generation, the
& Gas industry is a priority for the security of the system; power can flow in both directions, which produces changes in
electrical failures involve great economic losses. The electrical the operative conditions of the system. Those changes are
protections are configured according to studies performed reflected in the loss of coordination and malfunction of the
under the premise of a radial system. Problems in setting and
power system overcurrent protection [2].
coordination of those protections arise, when various power
Because traditional schemes of protection are fixed
sources are connected to supply the demand. In this paper the
schemes, they cannot react and protect the power system
authors present a methodology that utilizes digital protective
relays to solve the lack of coordination in overcurrent protection under changes in the operating characteristics, product of the
when the supply grid and on-site generation are used in the swap between power grid and on-site generation, even more,
oilfield electric distribution system. Using ETAP®, an those schemes do not consider the protection of the power
overcurrent protection study was performed on an oilfield system when both power sources are working together.
electric system. As a result, an adaptive overcurrent protection This paper presents a methodology for overcurrent
scheme was elaborated and proved to fulfill the requirements of
protection in an oil field distribution system, in which
electrical protection without regard the power source to which
electricity is obtained from the grid and from on-site
the oilfield is connected.
generation, inducing then three states of operation:

Index Terms-Adaptive protection, coordination, digital

• On-site generation only (normal operation)
relays, on-site generation, overcurrent protection, protective
relays, selective coordination. • Power grid only
• Parallel connection (power grid and on-site
generation)
I. INTRODUCTTON

The Oil & Gas industry is usually divided into three major The adaptive overcurrent protection scheme was elaborated

sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream, these and proposed for implementation, supported in the

activities depend to a large extent, on the electrical power advantageous features of digital protective relays.

systems and their reliability and security. Those power The paper is structured as folIows. The case study is

systems have to ensure the operation of the industrial described in section 11. The coordination problem found in

facilities even under failure conditions caused by overcurrent. the case study and the methodology for solving it, are

The oil and gas industry has to face great economic impacts, presented in section III and IV respectively. The result of

when power systems are not correctly protected against applying the methodology is presented in section V. Finally

electric failures. When an electrical failure affects any point in section VI the conc1usion of the study.

of the oilfield electric distribution system, the lost of

production could reach thousands barrels of oil per day 11. CASE STUDY

(BPD) In Fig. 1, the case study is iIIustrated. The case study is an

Keeping a continuous operation at the oil field is an oil field located in an area where water is the 70%-80% of the
imperative need, so the use of different power sources barrels of fluid per day (BFPD); this situation makes
became a good choice to guarantee success in the economic necessary the utilization of water pumps, although an oilfield
activity. The two options to obtain electricity in this case are: inc1ude many different electrical subsystems, this work
buying it from the grid or installing an own equipment to covers the subsystem related with the ESP water injection
generate it. Traditionally industrial power systems are pumps used in the exploration and production facility, and the
configured as passive networks, it means that there is only auxiliary systems.
one power source to supply the system, usually a supply grid; In this facility the electricity is obtained from the Supply
as a consequence the power flows in one direction and the Grid at 34.5 kV and an On-site Gas Generation system
normal and short circuit currents have only one path of comprised for a set of four generators at 0.48 kV, in which
circulation, so protection systems are configured in the one of those generators is always in standby in case of
traditional way [1]. Due to the introduction and increase of backup generation is needed.

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 2013-PSPC-399 Page 2 of 5

00-1.1'. sl4lP1yarid
ISO M'I.uc
2,5 Y Z,s y 2,5 Y 2,5 MW Y

_-'1 - 1 - '1 - '1I

GftIt4r.t.iOlt )oN ... G-'1 3'.5 kV
N.O.
Stand by

��
MCC!I-i) MCClI-B) HCC8-9) HC�""el�)
Gl/f-fBOv.c 1 1 1 0
1 00 ft

I)
L
MCCB-'
TX-l TX-'
6'6 6� 7 ""
�,:�4,16 kv 34.5/4,16 )r.v
6,7S Z 7 ,.

52-4 52-5
Open N.O.
BM1-116Dvao --1-------:-:---,---::-:-+-
---::-:-.-
52-0 52-1 52-2 52-)

(0.41 k\"U.16 k''l

G.o"nricoooSyal••

JJO ft

n:7Ii�48
820 ft 820 ft 820 ft

T
6� 'V
5,75 '!Z
"'CB-5 )

l ""fc:-�, � : _� �
HCC-'9OVo.

",es-O
l)
c . ' )
I) 500
I
:CB_' )
I I
SOO SOO 500 ::B-4 ) SOO ft �ioo HP
M2
2000 HP
Hl
2000 HP
"dtex Ifit1n lnjecUon PtltpM

. ... vrD-81 ..... vrD-B2 .... VrD-8) ........ vrD-84

Aux�y Systems .... .... ....
10 'VA
!lo HP Ho HP !lo HP !!o HP

..

Fig. 2. One-line diagram

Fig. I. Case study: Oilfield Distribution System.

All the relays used in the protection scheme are digital
relays, the selection of this type of relays obey to their
The generation set has a total capacity of 10 MVA and the
capability of being programmed with different configuration
total load is about 7 MVA. The distribution system comprises
groups (up to 6 in some commercial references). Although
three transformers; TXl, a step up transformer connected to
digital relays have various protection functions, the
the on-site generation (0.48 kV-4.16 kV). TX2, a step down
development of this work is focused on the phase overcurrent
transformer connected to the supply grid (34.5 kV/4.16kV),
protection function (ANSISO and ANSI 51). The software
and TX3 which is a step down transformer (4.16kV-0.48kV)
ETAP® and its tool Star-Device coordination [6], were used
and supplies the auxiliary systems and the booster pumps.
to perform the short-circuit calculations and the overcurrent
The loads are; three Water Main Injection Pumps (type: ESP
coordination study.
Horizontal Centrifugal, 2000HP) at 4.16 kV, and four Water
The one-line diagram of Fig. 2, presents the electrical
Injection Booster Pumps (type: Vertical Centrifugal, 250HP)
system of the case study. The selection and dirnensioning of
at 0.48 kV. The last load called Auxiliary Systems has a
the digital relays, and circuit breakers was defined following
magnitude of 10 kVA at 0.48 kV.
the NEC, IEEE 242-2001 and other standards and industrial
protection guides [4], [7]-[10].
III. PROBLEM IN OVERCURRENT PROTECTION COORDINATION
To obtain the necessary data for configuring the
The objective of the overcurrent protection coordination is overcurrent protective devices, short circuit studies were
to determine the operation sequence in which each protective performed in the system under the three possible states of
device of the system has to operate in case of an electrical operation. The results of these studies are shown in Table I.
failure. Two conditions are achieved when there is a correct These results confirm that the short circuit currents change
coordination of the overcurrent protection system, [3]: their magnitude when there is a swap between the power
• The point where the failure occurs is quickly sources.
isolated from the system. Using the results of the onsite generation column, an
• If the failure persists, only a minimum portion of overcurrent protection study was made for the base case (on­
the system should be isolated from it. site generation) and a protective scheme for this case was set
If these conditions are fulfilled, the protection is selective up. Various failure simulations were performed in different
and it has been correctly coordinated. This overcurrent points of the system; it allowed the verification and validation
protection is based on overcurrent protective devices such as of this protective scheme as the appropriated scheme for the
relays and circuit breakers which are selected and adjusted base case.
according to load and short-circuit currents of the system [4]. The following scenarios compare the performance of the
The direction and magnitude of the current will be different protective scheme in the base case, and its performance when
when the state of operation (power supply used) changes. the Parallel and the Power Grid only operative states of the
This variation affects the protective devices adjustment [5], system are introduced. The operation sequence of the
and consequently the protection coordination. protection devices is illustrated with ETAP® Star-Device
coordination.

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Page 3 of 5 2013-PSPC-399

TABLE I.
SYMMETRICAL THREE-PHASE SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENTS OF THE SYSTEM. 2-6
50,,"
Momentary Duty (1/2 cycle)
On-site Generation Power grid Parallel
Device ID (kA rms) (kA rms) (kA rms)
Gen-480 Vac 68,7 0 111,8
SWG-4160 Vac 6,1 14,4 15,3
Primary TX-2 0 2,5 2,8
Primary TX-3 5,5 8,9 10,1 52-5
0,,"
MCC-480Vac 18,0 22,4 24,1
Load BI 6,9 7,5 7,8 52-1 52-2 52-3
Load B2 6,9 7,5 7,8
Load B3 6,9 7,5 7,8
Auxiliary Services 0,7 0,7 0,7
Load MI 4,5 7,1 8,8
Load M2 4,5 7,1 8,8
TX-J
1,5 MVA

1'0 f'" r I :': '.""' "

Load M3 4,5 7,1 8,8

-�-I
-'1 -'�' , �,�'�' .�" �'.::�'
a) Scenario 1; Connection to On-site generation (base "
case) and sie at the MCC-480Vac bus
... :- ...:�,:� .:.": "
The sequence in Fig. 3 presents an appropriate
Auxiliary SystelDS '" ":.... ":.... '"
coordination of the overcurrent scheme for the case base. As 10 'VA
!la HP !lo HP !la HP
!la HP

an example, when a short circuit failure occurs at the MCC- Injection Boo.ter PtIIp.
B4
",,,,tu
Stand by

480Vac bus, the device providing primary protection to the

faulted point should operate. In this case the circuit breaker Fig. 3. Scenario 1; Operation sequence of the overcurrent protection scheme
for the base case with failure at the MCC-480VAc bus
MCCB-5 operates flfstly clearing the failure and isolating the
bus and its loads from the rest of the circuit. If the failure is
not cleared with the primary protection, the sequence shows
how minimum portions of the system are isolated in a
sequence planned to maintain the operation of the main
injection pumps. If the failure keeps moving upstream to the
power source, the protection scheme isolates the on-site
generation set, protecting the generators from electrical
damage. This sequence is the result of an appropriate
coordination of the overcurrent protection system made for
the base case. 52-1

b) Scenario 2; Connection to On-site generation and

Supply Grid and sie at the MCC-480Vac bus.

This scenario presents the result of using the base case's -:r;' 1,5 MVA

protection scheme for a failure at the same bus, when the

","-5 1)
J.j( , . 12 1IJ7 0'• 0

{ ","_)'� � ",C8-3�) "'�;:�

E.,.

I I I I 'l,Jl.ll410
system is connected to both power sources (parallel state). I1<c-48OV"

",,,-a HZ M3
The operation sequence for this case is presented in Fig. 4. "'''-' ) 2 03<:,,,,, "",:a
Basically the introduction of another power source to the
;:j:tion ..:."rx: HP

system changed the electric characteristics of the system;

therefore a new configuration of the protective devices is
. .�
Auxiliary SY5tems ""
� vrD-B1 �
""
vrD-B2 �
'"
vrD-BJ �
'"
vrD-B4
10 'VA
required. !la HP !la HP !la HP !la HP

Injection Boo.ter PUIIp.

B4

As shown in Fig. 4, when the failure occurred at the MCC- ",,,,tex

Stand by

480Vac bus, the MCCB-5 was not the flfSt but the third Fig. 4. Scenario 2; Performance of the base case's overcurrent protection
device to operate, being R5 the flfSt relay in opening the scheme when a failure occurs at the MCC-480VAc bus and the oilfield is
breaker 5 2-5. connected to both power sources.

This lack of coordination bring as a consequence: This lack of coordination exposes that the base case's
1. The failure is not c1eared by the primary protection protection scheme does not provide selectivity when the
at the point where it occurs. power grid is connected to the system. This serious error
2. A zone of the power system without failure is produces an interruption in the operation of the oil field
isolated from the system. because the activation of R5 is isolating the grid and cutting
off the power supply to the water main injection pumps.

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 2013-PSPC-399 Page 4 of 5

c) Scenario 3; Connection to the Supply Grid and sie

at the MCC-480Vac bus.

For this scenario when the only power source is the supply
grid, the operation sequence shows the same problem of
non-selectivity presented in the second scenario. When the

6
Rating and setting of protective relays tor
each n-state of operation, and coordination
simulation of short circuit is run, the first protection in study following the procedure in

operating is the relay R5 at the secondary side of TX-2; it IEEE Standard 242-2001, eh 15. , 15.7

means that again a failure at the low voltage sector is taking

out of service the loads at the mediwn voltage side and
stopping the operation of the production facility.
The previous scenarios provide an example of what could
happen when a fixed overcurrent protective scheme is used
for different operative states of a specific power system. It is
c1ear then, that a power system which operates connected to
various power sources needs various protection schemes
overcurrent protaction Final settings

appropriate for each state of operation. system using the software adjustments
provided by the relays (if necessary)

IV. METHODOLOGY * S is limited by the maximum

"umber of settings groups

The solution to the problem of overcurrent protection that ca" be programmed in the
digital relay.

coordination presented in the previous section was solved

applying the methodology proposed in this section, and show Fig. 5. Overcurrent protection coordination methodology for distribution
systems with on-site generation.
in Fig. 5 .
Essentially this methodology uses the overcurrent TABLE TT.
protection concepts for passive networks, and generates OVERCURRENT PROTECTlON SCHEME füR THE CASE STUDY
On-site generation (base case) National Grid Parallel (National grid-On site)

4000
appropriate overcurrent protection schemes for each
RELAYID ANS/SO ANS/51 ANS/SO ANS/51 ANS/SO ANS/51
operation state of the power system. Then those schemes are Ipickup(A) Ipickup(A) Time Dial Ipickup(A) Ipickup(A) Time Dial Ipickup(A) Ipickup(A) Time Dial
RO 146 0,51 6!XXJ 146 0,84 6!XXJ 146 0,97
programmed into the digital relays which in operation
Rl 4800 280 0,19 7200 280 0,19 8800 280 0,01
activate the adequate protective scheme, depending on the R2 4800 280 0,19 7200 280 0,19 8800 280 0,01
R3 4800 208 0,19 7200 280 0,19 8800 280 0,01
operation state of the power system.
R4 500 0,18 OFF OFF 265 0,97
R5 OFF OFF 800 0,2 1260 6
R6 OFF OFF OFF 2550 105 0,21 1600 161 6,48
V. RESULTS VALIDATION
The hlghllghted boxes show the relays settings that change accordlng to the state of operation In companson wlth the base case

Applying
overcurrent
the
protection
methodology

obtained and presented in Table 11.

scheme
proposed,
for the case
an
study
adaptive
was �::!!�OJl2,sG� 1
J«:CB-1
�
2 ,r y 2.sG�
J+:cB-8 MCCB-9
1 {2'5G;J
I«:C8-10
0,"
,.,
Standby
52-6

This adaptive scheme was programmed into the relays and

then various failure simulations were performed with the
* 5 * )
GE/I-48OVac -,,-,
� ,_54_",j1.;.
, ..
5 ' ".-
.., ...�
,-,,_54_...
oilfield subject to the three states of operation.
The result is that this adaptive overcurrent protection
scheme, proved to be coordinated and selective when those
1
,),11. 19,
failures occurred in different points of the case study. \!.�

sm·416OViJo -F..:.:...------,..---!.f''-''----,.-
As an example, the failure presented in the second scenario 52-1 52-2 52-3

is simulated again, but this time the overcurrent protection

scheme is the appropriated for this operation state. The
operation sequence is presented in Fig. 6.
The sequence in the example c1early shows, that the
adaptive protection scheme fulfill with the requirements of
selectivity when the failure occurred at the MCC-480Vac
bus. When the system is faulted, the primary protection
operates to c1ear the fault at the point of failure. If the failure
moves upstream, the overcurrent protection isolates only the
zones of the system where the failure is moving through, and
at the end of the sequence, the devices protecting the on-site
generation operate before the grid protective devices, this
preference to protect first the generation set is related with
economic arguments which assure the optimal operation of Fig. 6. Operation sequence of the adaptive overcurrent protection scheme
the oilfield. when the oilfield is connected to both power sourees.

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TABLE 111. REFERENCES

TRUTH TABLE füR DETERMINING THE OPERATIONAL STATE OF THE OILFIELD.
[I] Liang x., Lim J. ··Power-System Protection in an Oil-Field Distribution
52-5 52-4 Operational state
System·· IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 46, No. I,
o 0 Out of service
January/February 2010.
o I On-site generation
[2] Geidl, M. "Protection of Power Systems with Distributed Generation:
o Supply Grid
State of the Art" Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. July 2005.
Parallel connection
[Online]Available:http://www. eeh.ee. ethz.chluploads/tx_ethpublications/geid
Ij)rotection_dg.pdf
0- open 1- close [3] Soares A., Vieira J., "Case Study: Adaptive Overcurrent Protection
Scheme Applied to an Industrial Plant with Cogeneration Units", Presented
The detennination of the oilfield operative state is done by at 2008 IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and
Exposition, 2008, Chicago.
the communication of the relays in the system. This
[4] IEEE Recommended Practice for Protection and Coordination of
communication is based on the IEC 61850 protocol which Industrial and Commercial Power Systems. IEEE Standard 242-2001.
allows the determination of a relay as a control unit, called [5] M.P. Comech, M. Garcia-Gracia, S. Borroy and M.T. Villen. "Protection
publisher, which can send and receive information through a in Distributed Generation", in Distributed Generation, I SI Ed., Ed. InTech,
2010, pp. 289-310.
local area network to and from the other relays in the system.
[6] ETAP® Star-Device Coordination. Available:
In the case study, the relay R4 is the publisher relay which http://etap.comldownloadslbrochures/device-coordination-relay-testing.pdf
detennines the operation state based on the truth table of [7] IEEE Guide for AC Motor Protection, IEEE Standard C37.96-2000,
Table III. Although the focus of this paper is the overcurrent March, 2006.
[8] NFPA 70-2011, National Electrical Code (NEC).
protection function of digital relays, it is important to say that
[9] NFPA 70E-2012 Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
the master digital relay called "publisher" is also used to [10] GE® Power Management 'Relay Selection Guide' Available:
balance generation and load when an event causes a http://store.gedigitalenergy.com/FAQIDocuments/GenerallGET-8048A. pdf
significant drop in frequency in any operational state of the [lI] IEEE Recommended Practice for Industrial and Commercial Power
Systems Analysis (IEEE Brown Book). IEEE Std 399-1997.
oilfield, this balance is achieved using the underfrequency
[12] IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for
function available in the digital relay. Industrial Plants (IEEE Red Book). IEEE Std 141-1993.
Digital relays offer advantages m metering and [13] IEEE Recommended Practice for the Application of Instrument
communication, which can be used to implement the Transforrners in Industrial and Commercial Power Systems. IEEE Std
3004.1-2013
overcurrent protection scheme as an adaptive scheme which
[14] Electrical Installations in Petroleum Processing Plants. API RP 540
provides adaptive overcurrent protection for the different (R2004) by American Petroleum Institute.
operation states of the distribution system. [15] Schlumberger publication "Oilfield Review: Water Control". Volume
12, issue I, publication date 03/0112000, pp.30-51.

VI. CONCLUSION

Due to the utilization of various power supplies, different
operation states of the oilfield distribution system need to be
considered when making a coordination of overcurrent relays.
In each operation state the magnitude and the direction of the
currents utilized to coordinate the overcurrent relays change,
and consequently it is necessary to coordinate the overcurrent
relays for each operation state. If it is not considered,
problems in coordination and selectivity of the overcurrent
relays affect the operation at the oilfield when electrical
failures occur.
The proposed methodology in this paper presents a simple
and effective solution for coordinating overcurrent relays in
power systems such as the case study. Thanks to the
capability of digital relays to be programmed with different
overcurrent protection settings groups, the coordination of
overcurrent relays can be guaranteed for each operation state
at the oilfield. The methodology used
overcurrent relays covered a specific part of an oilfield, but it
can be extended to the entire oilfield's power system.
Finally, the methodology presented in this paper improves
the security and reliability of the oilfield's power system; it
allows technical efficiency in operation and diminishes the
probability of economic losses. Based upon results obtained
from the case study, it is recommended
methodology presented here when coordinating overcurrent
relays in electric distribution systems with on-site generation.
Esteban Bravo A. graduated in Electric and Electronic Engineering from
Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia, in 2012. His research interests
include overcurrent protection, and microprocessor-based relays. (email:
e-brac@ieee.org)
Esperanza S. Torres received the BSc. and MSc. degrees in Electrical
Engineering from the Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia, in 2004, and
2006, respectively, with a Management Minor, and BSc degree in Electronic
Engineering in 2005.
She is currently a Part-Time Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering at Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia. She teaches
classes in Electric Power System Protection, and Electric Distribution
Systems.
She is involved as a Facilities Engineer in the oil and gas industry.
(email: estorres@ieee.org)
Gustavo A. Ramos L. (M'04) received a degree in electrical engineer
(1997) from Universidad Nacional, Manizales, Colombia and M.Sc. (1999)
and PhD (2008) in electrical engineering from Universidad de Los Andes,
Colombia. Currently, he is Assistant Professor at the Department of
to coordinate Electrical Engineering at School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes,
Colombia. His research interests: Industrial electrical systems, power
electronics and power Quality. (email: gramos@uniandes.edu.co )
to apply the

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