The Sand Fallback Shield does precisely what its name suggests—it shields your ESP pump from sand and other solids that fall back into the pump during extended stop events. ESP pump shutdowns are caused by slugging, inconsistent power, and power surges or triggered by ESP drive automated algorithms or remote surveillance operators in their efforts to preserve the pump. Sand that has bypassed your ESP desander or downhole sand control screens and solids—such as scales—that are present in the produced crude oil settle inside the ESP pump because of gravity, a phenomenon called "sand fallback," which causes hard restarts and reduces the pump run life.

When the ESP pump is restarted, the Sand Fallback Shield's vertically and radially distributed flow area enables jetting and agitation of the settled solids, and unrestricted production resumes. The shield also allows injection from above, enabling the Production Operations team to stimulate the well or clean the completion.