Metering & Measurement
Liberty Utilities Sees Potential Benefit in Decoupling
Whenever the topic of “decoupling” is mentioned concerning natural gas distribution utilities, confusion, along with a fair amount of debate, is bound to follow. That’s because, traditionally, rates for business and residential customers are decided based on a particular company’s revenues and profits.
Examining Data Quality of Robotic Pipeline Inspection Methods
Examining the ability of robotic pipeline inspection methods to address specific pipeline threats, including surface corrosion, internal and external anomalies, deformations, construction features, and other useful pipeline features and characteristics.
Ultrasonic Metering, Creative Insulation Engineering, Aid LNG Plant
A major East Coast storage facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) had a flow metering challenge on one line. The problem was directly related to the temperature of the product. LNG is liquefied to concentrate its volume for shipping and, as a result, the temperature of the liquid drops to a cryog..
New View on Oil and Gas Facilities
Spatial information – an object’s location, size, shape and relationship to other structures and objects – is an essential component in planning, constructing and operating energy facilities. In order to support efficient production and transport of oil and gas, energy producers must have accurate,..
Measuring Methane Emissions: Part of Gas Pipelines’ Future
When examining the growing cottage industry of methane emissions control, it is clear upfront that it is one of the toughest sub-specialties in the emerging conglomerate that makes up the national response to climate change impacts. Researchers, engineers and public-policy wonks must start with the ..
Mr. Mayeaux, You Left Your Company in the Right Hands
Justin Harvey knows he has an industrial-sized pair of shoes to fill as he takes the helm at A+ Corporation, a family-owned and operated gas sample conditioning system service company in Gonzales, LA. The 30-year-old Harvey was just a toddler when his legendary grandfather Donald Mayeaux founded the company in 1989. Mayeaux earned his reputation for developing product concepts that changed the manner in which natural gas was sampled.
EPA Proposes New Methane Regulations for Midstream Operations
The federal Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new regulations for methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the oil and gas sector that place time-consuming and expensive new requirements on midstream businesses. These regulations would not apply to pipelines, but would require ongoing emissions monitoring and equipment replacements at compressor stations and natural gas processing plants built, “modified,” or “reconstructed” after Sept. 18, 2015.
What's New: December 2015
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Improving Lost and Unaccounted for Levels by Embracing Innovation
Across many industries, companies showing a reluctance to embrace new technology are in danger of losing any competitive edge. In the oil and gas industry, where even the smallest error can have a major long-term effect, embracing innovation in the form of data analytics has become a necessity for companies striving to reach the highest levels.
Data Shows Most Crude Produced in Lower 48 Light Oils
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show that for the first nine months of 2015, most (50.8%) of the crude oil produced in the Lower 48 states were light oils with an API gravity above 40 degrees. The largest share of production was in the 40.1 to 45 degree API gravity range.
Mastering Inspection of Challenging Pipelines
Any inspection device used internally must be introduced into the pipeline to be investigated. This implies that the line is accessible. “Piggable” lines need suitable launchers and receivers and are generally inspected in a unidirectional mode. If tool traps are not available or suitable, access has to be achieved via other means. Accessibility can be achieved through technical and/or procedural means.
Retrofitting Customized Valves, Actuators for Pipeline Monitoring Stations
Oil and gas engineers face a major problem in accurately and reliably measuring and monitoring the various fluids that are introduced into oil pipelines from well site pumping stations. A thorough understanding of both the oil separation process and the properties of valves and actuators is required to correctly specify a system that will sufficiently measure and monitor these various types of fluids. Also, the conditions downstream from each well are different, requiring valves and actuators to be highly customized to their specific role in the process.
GPR, EM Technologies Offer Rewards in Environmental Assessments
Geophysical surveys can be the bedrock – pardon the pun – of environmental projects, from locating abandoned underground storage tanks (USTs) and utilities, to complex mapping of geology in remedial investigations and finding landfill boundaries and other buried unknown problems.
ILI Offers Technology that Will Continue to Advance
There are about 3.5 million kilometers of oil and gas pipelines worldwide needing regular cleaning, inspection and maintenance, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).
New Integrity Solutions Facing Many Same Old Problems
The protection of oil, gas and refined product pipelines against natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, not to mention human actions including construction excavations, illegal tapping and terrorist sabotage, is an ongoing concern for operators around the world. However, in the United States, the top three causes of pipeline failure reported by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are construction excavations, corrosion and equipment failure (Figure1).
Mastering Inspection of Challenging Pipelines
Pipelines are a valuable asset and need protection. In order to achieve this, a modern pipeline integrity management program usually includes regular inspections followed by integrity assessment, and if required, repair and rehabilitation measures.
Natural Gas Production Records from Idaho Well Made Public
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The first batch of production records from a natural gas well in Idaho have been made public following a new rule approved by lawmakers. The Idaho Department of Lands earlier this week released the monthly records that span from February 2013 to July for a well named State 1-17 in southwest Idaho and operated by Houston-based Alta Mesa. Records show the well is producing a comparatively small amount of natural gas — 290,000 cubic feet in July. The gas is being sent to Intermountain Gas and used in the nearby town of New Plymouth.
Orifice, Ultrasonic Meters in Wet Gas Flow Service
Natural gas producers regularly have to meter wet gas flow. Separator systems or multiphase wet gas meters are beneficial but the economic reality of many applications is that standard gas meters must be used. Hence, understanding the wet gas performance of gas meters is important.
ROSEN Sponsors Roundtable on Linear Threats
The ROSEN Group brought key industry stakeholders together for a roundtable on the topic of “Linear Threats in Pipelines” on May 28. The event attracted over 100 attendees from throughout North America and Europe who were hosted at the ROSEN facility in Gahanna, OH. The roundtable began with an official welcome by ROSEN Executive Vice President Chris F. Yoxall, who emphasized the importance of “why we are here.” He addressed the goal and set the tone for the day – bringing together all stakeholders to collectively work on common topics of interest.
Best Practices for Mitigating Flow Measurement Errors Associated with Hydrate Formation
Operating pipelines at high pressure and low temperature can lead to natural gas hydrate formation, even with modest water content. Hydrate formation is also a growing concern as flow measurement equipment and operators become more accustomed to handling wet gas flow. Hydrate particles can attach to pipe walls, instruments, and other structures within the pipeline, which can then lead to gas measurement errors or instrument failure due to solid particle attachment or high-velocity impacts.
Measuring Hydrocarbon Fluids Using Wet Gas, Watercut and Multiphase Meters
Oil and natural gas are two fossil fuels that account for a great deal of the energy used in the world. What they have in common is that they are found deep in the earth, sometimes underneath the ocean bed, and they have to be extracted through the drilling process. The fluids that come out of these wells generally include a mixture of gas, water, and oil. In addition, they may contain sand and sediment. These components eventually have to be separated and measured before they can be usefully processed.
Developing Engineering-Based Integrity Programs for Pipelines, Plants
Integrity assessment has always been a part of operations and maintenance activities. As plant piping and pipeline infrastructure has aged, industry first developed basic tools, and as their importance became apparent, these tools improved to meet those increasing needs.
Role of Quality Management System in Project Completion
Quality is critical and the most important factor for completion of a project on time and within the allocated budget. If proper quality checks are not in place, defective materials or work may cause damage to equipment and facilities, and potentially resulting in health and safety hazards. Successful projects are those that meet business requirements and are delivered on schedule. Many factors contribute to a project’s success such as project planning, resource allocation, risk management and governance criteria, but effective quality management is critical for any project success.
What's New: April 2015
What's new from Rotork, Ajax TOCCO, Crest Industrial, Transducers Direct, Tulsa Rig Iron and more.
Developing Crack Size Detection Criteria for Unpiggable Gas Pipelines
NYSEARCH/Northeast Gas Association (NGA) and development partner Invodane Engineering have introduced the Explorer series of robotic internal inspection platforms and sensors which can perform integrity assessments on natural gas pipelines now incapable of using conventional inline inspection (ILI) technology. The commercial partner on the project is Pipetel Technologies Inc.
Tackling Valve Misalignment Problems
Valve misalignments are a real issue in the petrochemical industry where misalignments in tank fields and blending areas can result in financial losses from product quality and environmental safety issues. This article describes an electronic pin board software solution developed by Matrix Technologies, Inc., a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA), to mitigate valve misalignments and improve efficiency in the alignment process. It also details some of the underlying technologies used in the software and the gains that have resulted from its use.
NTSB Study Seeks Changes to Gas Transmission Integrity Programs
A new National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study calls for major changes to integrity management (IM) programs of gas transmission pipelines in high-consequence areas (HCAs).
New Concept Based On Big Data To Pipeline Risk Management
In the last several decades, there has been a rapid rise in the use of pipeline risk assessment for managing pipeline safety. It has become an important part of pipeline integrity management, but risk assessment is not an absolute science.
Achieving Vital Security With Cloud Services
Are your company’s business systems connected in any way to the industrial control systems (ICS), including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which are used to manage the company’s critical infrastructure? If they are, and the best guess is they are, then the ICS/SCADA could be vulnerable to cyberattacks in addition to the business side of the networks.
Analyzing The Analyzer Metrology In Natural Gas Pipelines
Upstream, you have producers and gas processors that deliver natural gas to fill the growing demand for the clean-burning fuel. Downstream, you have hundreds of miles of pipeline infrastructure to deliver the gas to market.
- Keystone XL Work to Begin in Montana this Fall
- Plains-ExxonMobil JV to Build Permian Pipeline
- Report: US, Canada Need $800 Billion in Midstream Infrastructure Investment Through 2035
- Pipeline Protesters Sentenced to Prison, Probation
- TransCanada Official: Coastal GasLink Pipeline Construction Expected to Start in 2019
