Natural Gas Measurement Fundamentals

Professionals in the energy industry often grapple with the complexities of accurately measuring natural gas quantity, quality, and value, hindered by intricate regulations and operational variables. This Natural Gas Measurement course will renew your grasp of gas measurement’s scientific foundations and equip you with the know-how of established methods, equipment, and compliance protocols. By navigating gas properties, metering principles, quality assessment, and regulatory nuances, this course empowers you to make sound decisions, ensure precision in measurements, and adeptly maneuver within industry standards.

This course will also discuss:

Supply management
Classes of natural gas
Flow measurement
Back-office systems and business practices
Equipment calibration

Discuss the business, regulatory and operational drivers behind measurement.
Review what natural gas is made of and how it behaves, both physically and chemically
Identify the main types of metering devices and how they work
Discuss the methods of measuring gas quality and the rationale behind it
Discuss the types of equipment used to measure pressure, temperature, composition and contaminants
Analyze the role and functions of a measurement back-office system, and how it integrates with other business systems
Discuss how and why devices are calibrated, verified or maintained
Obtain a cradle-to-grave perspective of the life cycle of measurement facilities
Develop awareness of externally imposed rules, standards and regulations that qualify whether a facility is fit for Custody Transfer service

Why Measure?

Business
- What is Custody Transfer?
- Business areas that rely on measurement data
- Contracts and Operating Agreements
Operations
- Supply management
- Pipeline system operation
- Equipment and facility operation
Regulatory
- Federal regulations
- Regional regulations
- International regulatory rules

Physical Properties of Natural Gas

Classes of natural gas
- Pipeline quality
- Raw versus processed natural gas
- Blended mixtures (ex. hydrogen)
- LNG and CNG
- Non-traditional supplies
Composition
- Alkane hydrocarbon compounds
- Inert compounds
- Contaminants
Ideal and real gas properties
- What is the difference?
Density and compressibility factor
- Definitions
- Surface plots
- Equations of State
Volume, mass, energy
- Relations between volume, mass and energy
- What are ‘standard conditions’?
Heating value, SOS and other properties
- Basics of combustion
- Higher vs Lower heating value
- Hydrocarbon dew point temperature
- Speed of sound and Critical flow
- Joule Thompson effect
- Enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity
- Viscosity and Heat transfer coefficient
Contaminants
- Free liquids
- Condensation and HCDP
- Solids
- H₂S
- CO₂
- Formaldehyde, oxides of nitrogen, etc.

Metering Principles, Types and Standards

Head type meters
- Principles of operation
  - Bernoulli’s theorem
  - Pressure vs velocity
  - What is fully developed flow?
- Orifice plates and meter run assemblies
  - Plate holders
  - Meter runs
  - Flow conditioning
  - Pressure taps
  - Temperature probes
  - Sample points
- Cone meters
  - Basic configuration
  - Strengths and limitations
- Nozzles and venturis
  - Roles (calibration vs flow limiting)
  - Critical flow
  - Sub-sonic flow
- Pitot tubes
- Flow equations
  - Overview
  - Implementations and Verification
- Industry standards
  - AGA Report #3
  - ISO 5167
- Maintenance and calibration
Turbine, PD and vortex shedders
- Principles of operation
- Turbine meters
  - Rotor design
  - Single/dual rotor
  - Strengths and limitations
  - Typical configuration
  - Calibration and maintenance
  - Industry standards
- Positive displacement meters
  - Types
  - Typical installations
- Vortex-shedding meters
  - How do they work?
- Ultrasonic flow measurement
  - Principles of operation
    - Chords and paths
    - Full bore vs reduced bore
    - Signal propagation and detection
    - Mathematical basics
    - Flow conditioning
  - Path configuration
    - Single path
    - Multi-path
    - Wetted transducers versus clamp-on
  - Coriolis force meters
    - Principle of operation
    - Typical designs and installations
    - Strengths and limitations
    - Density measurement

Gas Quality and Analytical Methods

Sampling
- Sample probes, regulators, filters and cylinders
Process analysers
- Composition vs species
Chromatography
- Principles of operation
- Typical implementation
- Calculations and connectivity

Process Instrumentation and Flow Computing

Pressure and temperature transmitters and recorders
- Transmitters and transducers
- Chart recorders and chart integration
PLCs, flow computers, RTUs and distributed control systems
- What is a flow computer?
- Overview of API MPMS Chapters 21.1 and 21.2
- What is an RTU, PLC or Distributed Control System?

Back Office Systems and Business Processes

Data collection, validation, storage and retrieval
- Measurement data processing systems
- SCADA systems
- Data historians
- Telecommunications
- Security

Measurement Data Analysis

Overview of analysis processes
Integration with business processes and field operations

Data Validation, Corrections

Validation principles (validation vs calibration)
Correction tools and techniques
Rules and limitations (ex. NAESB)

End-of-Month Processes

Totalization and zone balancing
Energy vs volume balancing
Fuel gas and other usage
What is Lost and Unaccounted-For Gas?
- Physical balance
- Commercial balance
Error management and problem escalation
Commercial balance reconciliation

Equipment Calibration and Maintenance

Flow calibration
- Calibration vs Verification
- Tools and procedures
- Training and Certification
- Industry practices
- Witnessing
In-situ verification

Milestone Events and Processes

Design
- Participants and roles
- Engineering standards
Construction
- Ensuring compliance and correct assembly
Commissioning
- Typical steps
- Documentation
- Compliance checking
Audits and Disputes
- Contractual and tariff limits
- What is a technical audit?
- Dispute resolution
Re-configuration and retirement
- Upgrades
- Downgrades
- Change of function
- Inventory

Industry Standards, Commercial Contracts and Government Regulations

Industry Standards from AGA, ISO, API and GPA
- Flow measurement-related
- Gas quality related
- Flow computing-related
- Contracts and tariffs
Tariffs, Contracts and AGA Report 4a
- Overview of functions and roles
- Legal requirements
Regulatory requirements and agencies
- FERC / NEB
- Measurement Canada
- State/Province
- BLM
- NAESB

Warren Peterson is a measurement specialist with 42 years of experience in the oil & gas industry. Throughout his career he has worked for companies like Alliance Pipeline, TC Energy, and Kenonic Controls, specializing in flow measurement and the determination of fluid properties. Along with pipeline operating experience, he has been active in industry standards and research. On that foundation, he incorporated his own consulting company, Peterson Measurement, Inc. in late 2017.

Natural Gas Measurement Fundamentals

Learning Outcomes

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Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Agenda

Adjourn for the day

Course Timing