Non-intrusive solution for in-line ultrasonic meter verification

Flow Surveillance

Customer challenges

General Petroleum Company (GPC) had concerns about their actual fuel gas consumption from the natural gas supply line provided by the distributor to their oil plant. They believed the in-line ultrasonic meter for custody transfer was reading higher and as a result, they were paying an estimated $40K per month for gas they do not consume
GPC needed to measure the gas flow rate within a reliable accuracy range without stopping or diverting the gas flow
A replacement in-line ultrasonic meter for custody transfer was believed to be required to assure the reliability of the distributor flow rates and the customer wanted to verify the functionality before any additional CAPEX investment
An intrusive measurement device would require stopping or diverting the gas flow which could result in the partial shutdown of the facility
Expro were approached to provide an optimal and robust non-intrusive measurement solution to verify the gas flow rates

Expro Excellence

Expro supplied a 4-inch and 6-inch clamp-on ActiveSONAR supported by a metering technician to measure multiple branches on the natural gas supply line from the distributor to GPC’s plant
The flowlines were insulated with a thick layer of polyethylene (PE) which could not be removed and therefore Expro provided a specifically designed adaptor to ensure a robust meter installation
Data was provided over an 8-hour test period simultaneously on both branches
The operation was performed with a very small footprint and required a minimal crew to operate and no power generators were used

Value to client

GPC received a non-intrusive solution with no disruption to supply
The customer was also able to verify the distributor rates provided by the in-line ultrasonic meter and was able to precisely spot check the gas consumption without any shutdown or disruption
Expro’s non-intrusive solution proved that the inline ultrasonic meter was functioning properly and saved GPC the cost of purchasing a replacement custody transfer meter or calibration of the existing one

Customer challenges

General Petroleum Company (GPC) had concerns about their actual fuel gas consumption from the natural gas supply line provided by the distributor to their oil plant. They believed the in-line ultrasonic meter for custody transfer was reading higher and as a result, they were paying an estimated $40K per month for gas they do not consume
GPC needed to measure the gas flow rate within a reliable accuracy range without stopping or diverting the gas flow
A replacement in-line ultrasonic meter for custody transfer was believed to be required to assure the reliability of the distributor flow rates and the customer wanted to verify the functionality before any additional CAPEX investment
An intrusive measurement device would require stopping or diverting the gas flow which could result in the partial shutdown of the facility
Expro were approached to provide an optimal and robust non-intrusive measurement solution to verify the gas flow rates

Expro Excellence

Expro supplied a 4-inch and 6-inch clamp-on ActiveSONAR supported by a metering technician to measure multiple branches on the natural gas supply line from the distributor to GPC’s plant
The flowlines were insulated with a thick layer of polyethylene (PE) which could not be removed and therefore Expro provided a specifically designed adaptor to ensure a robust meter installation
Data was provided over an 8-hour test period simultaneously on both branches
The operation was performed with a very small footprint and required a minimal crew to operate and no power generators were used

Value to client

GPC received a non-intrusive solution with no disruption to supply
The customer was also able to verify the distributor rates provided by the in-line ultrasonic meter and was able to precisely spot check the gas consumption without any shutdown or disruption
Expro’s non-intrusive solution proved that the inline ultrasonic meter was functioning properly and saved GPC the cost of purchasing a replacement custody transfer meter or calibration of the existing one

Contact

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