CASE STUDY | OIL & GAS

BCPGroup uses technology to drive sustainability

BCPGroup & MAGNETA use permanent magnet motor technology and artificial intelligence applications to advance sustainability initiatives in the oil and gas industry

bcp group and magenta employee stands in front of well pump using artificial lift technology at oil and gas site

BCPGroup is the leading developer, manufacturer and installer of intelligent controllers and solutions used in artificial lift systems in the oil and gas industry. The firm has an installed base of more than 5000 systems in wells around the globe.

Its newest subsidiary, MAGNETA, in Houston, Texas, serves as its North American Headquarters, developing Permanent Magnet Motor Technologies and its respective Artificial Intelligence Applications.

Alexander Mendoza

CEO and President, BCPGroup

Diego Mendoza

Business Development, MAGNETA

Challenge

Reduce energy use
Reduce carbon footprint
Comply with international environmental requirements
Reduce harmonics
Control costs

Solution

PowerFlex® 755TR variable speed drives
PowerFlex® 6000T medium voltage AC drives
CILA2S® 5G MAGNETO universal intelligent controller
MAGNETO permanent magnetic motor solutions
MAGNETO artificial intelligence FOS platform technology

Result

20% - 30% energy savings with pumping applications
40% less maintenance costs for artificial lift and pumping applications
30% increase in well productivity

For decades, BCPGroup has been a trusted developer, manufacturer and installer of intelligent controllers and solutions for artificial lift systems in the oil and gas industry. The company has an installed base of more than 5000 systems in wells throughout the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Egypt.

Its newest subsidiary, MAGNETA, serves as the company’s North American Headquarters as well as a hub for developing permanent magnet motor (PMM) technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) applications that will help oil and gas companies drive sustainability.

As a gold-level OEM member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ program, BCPGroup has worked closely with Rockwell Automation to embed its technologies in BCPGroup offerings since the company’s inception more than 23 years ago.

“My father founded this company on cutting-edge technology and innovation, and sought out the best in industry partners,” said Diego Mendoza, who serves in a business development role for MAGNETA. “That’s why we work with Rockwell Automation. We integrate all their products into our solutions.”

This includes BCPGroup’s innovative AI applications.

“Everyone talks today about AI,” said Alexander Mendoza, CEO and President, BCPGroup. “But we’ve been using it for 23 years since we first launched intelligent controllers for artificial lift systems. AI is part of how we already work.”

Challenge

Reduce Energy Use and Environmental Impact

Driven by global mandates to reduce energy and environmental impacts, oil and gas companies are seeking ways to operate more sustainability – while maintaining productivity and competitiveness. BCPGroup founded MAGNETA to expand the use of its intelligent controllers, which they know can help oil and gas companies meet their sustainability goals.

“Sustainability is a very important issue to us and a very important challenge to tackle,” Diego explained. “We've been helping oil and gas companies reduce energy use and increase productivity for a long time. Together with Rockwell Automation, we want to focus our efforts on the United States oil industry as companies begin to move forward with their sustainability goals. We can help.”

Solution

Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Control, PMM Motors and Energy Optimization Technologies

With that goal in mind, BCPGroup has developed and launched a line of offerings under the MAGNETA brand umbrella. These include:

The CILA2S 5G MAGNETA universal intelligent controller for sucker rod pumps (SRP), progressive cavity pumps (PCP) and electrical submersible pumps (ESP),
Permanent magnet motor (PMM) solutions, and
An artificial intelligence flux oriented sensorless (FOS) platform.

PowerFlex® 755TR variable speed drives with active front–end (AFE) technology and PowerFlex® 6000T medium voltage AC drives, both with PMM control, are embedded in the MAGNETA line of products.

“Rockwell Automation has been a perfect Partner. They’re as committed as we are to addressing the sustainability needs of the oil and gas industry, and they have brought their expertise in variable speed drives to this challenge,” Diego said. “They provide the most cutting-edge variable speed drive available with AFE technology that reduces harmonic feedback to the grid. And they’ve worked with us to develop firmware for PMM control, which we can apply universally to our PMM applications across all artificial lift methods.”

Result

Significant Energy and Operations Savings

Based on initial testing, BCPGroup believes that MAGNETA is positioned to help oil and gas companies achieve significant energy and cost savings.

“Our simulations are very precise, and we predict between a 20% and 30% energy savings per well,” Diego explained. “Multiply that by thousands of wells and that’s a big chunk of energy expenditure we can help eliminate for the industry.”

Further, MAGNETA’s AI capabilities provide real time data analysis of well operations so users can set preventative maintenance alerts and optimize control based on the well’s current operating state. BCPGroup estimates this will help users reduce maintenance costs on artificial lift and water pumping applications by more than 40%.

“Together, Rockwell and BCPGroup are bringing advanced technologies to the U.S. oil and gas industry that will help reduce their OpEx and CapEx numbers while also reducing the carbon footprint of their operations,” Alexander said. “These are game-changing technologies that will move the industry forward.”

Published October 16, 2024