Proper handling and running procedures are essential to ensure cable reliability. The majority of cable failures are caused by damage resulting from improper handling.

The ESP cable is often the most expensive item in an Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) system. It is easily damaged if subjected to incorrect handling procedures. The weight of a drum of ESP cable may exceed 10 tons. If placed directly on the ground the flanges are likely to sink, causing the weight of the drum to rest on the cable. The drum should normally be supported on an axle to prevent damage.

1 Lifting of cables - Electrical Submersible Pump

• Cable drums should be lifted using an axle passed through the drum. A spreader bar should be used to ensure that lifting slings do not bear on the flanges of the drum.
• If a fork lift is used to lift the cable this should be done either by supporting the drum on an axle which can be lifted by the forks, or by placing the forks through the drum from the side. The forks should never be allowed to come into direct contact with the cable.
• At low ambient temperatures, the cable should be kept warm until it is run in the well. The insulation may become brittle at low temperatures causing cracking.

2 Cable sheave assembly - Electrical Submersible Pump

• The cable sheave should be hung in the derrick above the wellhead, or on a mast aligned between the cable reel and wellhead. Make sure the cable sheave is attached securely with chain and safety backup! (cable or chain).
• This sheave should be no more than 30 feet above the ground in order to permit flexibility and avoid shock against the cable during running and pulling operations. The largest available sheave (minimum 54") should be used to minimise flexing of the cable. At very low ambient temperatures the cable should be heated to prevent cracking and damage to the insulation.
• The pothead and flat cable extension must be threaded through the sheave before it is lifted into the derrick.

3 Cable spooling - Electrical Submersible Pump

• The cable should be removed from the cable drum slowly. The cable should be supported between the drum and sheave during installation and pulling operations. The weight of the cable between the sheave and the drum should not exceed 100 lbs (50 kg).
• At all times, there should be some slack between the cable reel and the cable sheave wheel. The Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) cable should never be subjected to tensile loads during spooling operations.

4 Cable protection - Electrical Submersible Pump

• Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) power cable is run into the well attached to the tubing string. The cable is fastened to the tubing with bands which may be manufactured from mild steel, stainless steel, or Monel, according to the environment in which they are used. Bands are typically 20 mm wide and 0.6 mm thick. At least 1-2 bands per tubing joint should be used. Bands can be applied manually but are more reliably installed and tensioned with automatic banding machines. Bands should not be put over splices, although three to four additional bands should be used above and below a splice.
• To prevent crushing of a cable between tubing couplings and the casing, cast cable protectors (Cross-coupling protectors) can be used. These are installed over a tubing collar and provide sufficient standoff to ensure that the cable is protected. Typically one protector is required every 2-3 joints of tubing. In deviated wells cable protectors must be used, and may be required on every connection.
• Cable saddles should be used for the flat cable extension to provide sufficient standoff to prevent crushing of the cable between the motor housing and the casing.
• ESP cable is incapable of supporting its own weight when hanging vertically in a well, unless supported by the tubing. Stretching of the cable may result in the breaking of the conductors, and damage to the armour and insulation. Cable bands must be used to ensure that the cable is supported by the tubing.
• The cable should be kept clear of the ground when running into the hole. In a muddy location, place boards or matting to avoid the cable picking up mud and dirt.

5 Cable running procedures - Electrical Submersible Pump

• The rig must be correctly aligned over the wellhead.
• The cable reel should be positioned 75 ft (25 m) to 100 ft (30 m) from the wellhead.
• Where possible cable splices should be made in advance in a clean dry environment. This will improve the reliability of the splice and save rig time. The motor flat cable and splice should be fed through the cable sheave before it is lifted into the derrick. 
• Run or pull the tubing slowly to ensure that the cable is not damaged (max. 2000 ft/600 m per hour).
• Extra care should be taken when running an Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) into a well for the first time. The driller must be alert to any unusual increase or loss of weight, and should not jar or brake unnecessarily.
• The clearances around Electrical Submersible Pump units in heavy walled casing may be small, and may require that the flat cable guards are omitted over the Electrical Submersible Pump section of the down hole assembly.
• Cross-coupling or other cable protectors should be fitted at the required intervals.
• Cable bands should be used and should be installed with a banding machine. Use of hand banding should be discouraged as it is time consuming and bands are inconsistent. Two bands per joint should be used with 20 ft (6 m) tubing joints. One band should be placed at the midpoint of each joint and the second 18" (50 cm) above each coupling. Three bands should be used on 30 ft (9 m) tubing joints, and for heavy flat cable sections. Cable bands should be tight, but should not crush the armour. The bands must be positioned squarely across the cable and tubing, with the bands at right angles to the tubing. The bottom and top edges of each band must be flush with the tubing. Bands should be counted and entered on the completion tally. Any band that is loose should be removed and replaced.
• The flat cable and cable guards should be banded in a straight line up the side of the protector and Electrical Submersible Pump. The first band should be positioned immediately above the pothead using a flat guard which has the bottom end slightly chamfered. The flat cable and guards should be used up to the cable splice.
• The flat cable guards should not be placed over voids, screens, or at changes of assembly diameter. If necessary, the end of a flat cable guard may be cut to fit.
• The cable must be positioned in the slip door guide slot before the slips are set.
• Cable continuity checks should be made regularly while unit is being run in. Cable checks are normally made approximately every 2000 ft (600 m).
• The round cable should run in a straight line up the tubing. The tubing must not be allowed to rotate while running into the hole.
• Backup tongs should be used to prevent rotation of the tubing string when tightening tubing connections. The swivel should be locked to prevent rotation of the hook. Any rotation of the tubing string will lead to cable damage.
• The slips should be maintained in good condition with sharp dies of the non-rotating type. 
• If cable crushing or armour damaged is suspected it must be inspected by the ESP engineer and running in continued only if the cable is undamaged. If necessary cable can be repaired by field splicing but this should be avoided if at all possible.

Minimum checks that should be carried out during the installation process:

• check cable physical condition;
• check pothead physical condition;
• check conductor continuity;
• check phase to phase and phase to ground resistance for all phases; 
• perform pothead pressure check.

6 Checking cable and motor - Electrical Submersible Pump

• Electrical continuity of the cable and motor can be checked using an ohmmeter. When connected between any two phases the reading should be the resistance of two conductors and two stator windings in series. The reading between any two of the three conductors should be the same.
• The insulation of the cable and motor windings to ground must be checked with a high voltage megohmmeter. For a new cable (without a motor connected) the electrical resistance between any two phases, or between any phase and ground should be infinite. With a motor connected the phase to phase reading will be low, but the resistance of all phases to ground should be infinite. Since all three phases are connected together within the motor a ground fault on any of the phases will be measurable on all of the conductors.
• Phase rotation equipment should be used to mark the phases, to ensure that the motor rotates in the intended direction.