Patent ID: 7857604

Claim:
An electrical submersible pump assembly, comprising: a motor cooperatively engaged with a pump for driving the pump; a power cable; a motor lead exterior of the motor, the motor lead having a second end electrically connected to the motor and a first end electrically connected to the power cable for supplying power to the motor, the motor lead comprising solid electrical conductor covered by a layer of insulation and enclosed within a tube, the tube being sealed from an exterior environment of the motor, the tube and the layer of insulation having a space between them containing a dielectric fluid in contact with the layer of insulation, the space being open at the first end of the tube and closed at the second end of the tube; wherein the motor is filled with a dielectric lubricant and the dielectric fluid in the interior of the tube of the motor lead from the first end to the second end of the tube is in fluid communication with the dielectric lubricant; a tubular housing enclosing the motor and the pump, the housing having an intake for receiving well fluid, the pump having a pump intake within the housing for receiving the well fluid flowing into the housing and a discharge conduit extending sealingly out of the housing; and the power cable extending to an exterior end of a penetrator mounted in a portion of a wall of the housing, wherein the tube extends within the housing from the motor to an interior end of the penetrator, the tube adapted to be immersed in well fluid flowing into the housing to the pump intake and being located exterior of the discharge conduit, and wherein the penetrator seals the space between the layer of insulation and the tube, preventing any of the dielectric fluid from flowing past the penetrator into the power cable.