Mitigation of harmonics in oil field electric systems using multiple low voltage filters

Variable frequency drives are increasingly being used in oil fields to operate pump jacks. Significant harmonic distortions are expected for such applications. Two schemes have been proposed to mitigate the harmonic distortions. One scheme involves a centralized medium voltage filter and the other distributed low-voltage filters. This paper presents the results on the application of LV filters. Performance characteristics, application issues, and economical implications of the LV filtering scheme are determined. The results show that the LV filtering option can result in large cost and has a few technical complications